Belgian soldiers played a part in the operation to take down Russian drones that had entered Polish airspace on Tuesday night, said Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA).
On Tuesday night, 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace. In response, Polish F-16s and Dutch F-35s were deployed to shoot down the drones. An Italian radar aircraft and a tanker aircraft from the multinational Airbus A330 MRTT fleet also took off.
Belgium is part of that multinational fleet: two Belgian soldiers manned an air-to-air refuelling aircraft that was deployed during the operation, Francken specified on social media. "I am proud that we have contributed to the defence of the alliance."
"It was a collaboration between allies," Francken said on Flemish radio on Thursday morning. "Belgian MRTT (tanker and transport aircraft) military personnel refuelled the F-35s in the air during the night."
He qualifies this by saying that "only" a third of the drones were shot down. "Lessons must be learned. There was no threat to Poland either. If it had been a surprise attack, then you would have had a different scenario. There would have been much more military engagement from NATO. This was a test, and it is a wake-up call for everyone."
Meanwhile, Russia insists that it was not a provocation.
On Friday, the UN Security Council is convening for a meeting on the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones, after five members of the Security Council submitted a request for the meeting.
