People living or working in Brussels may have been surprised by the sound of numerous military jets and helicopters flying over the city on Wednesday afternoon. Rest assured, Belgium is not at war.
Aircraft from the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces conducted rehearsals for the planned Belgian National Day military parade, the Defence Ministry confirmed to The Brussels Times.
"These are exercises by our military aircraft in preparation for the parade on 21 July," a spokesperson said. "The Ministry of Defence apologises to the public for any inconvenience caused."
Between 16:21 and 16:26, the aircraft did a flyover of the Place des Palais in the city centre, according to Phillipe Touwaide, Federal Ombudsman for Air Transport and Director of the Mediation Service for Brussels International Airport.
On Thursday, similar rehearsals will also take place at the same time – which is also the same time as on the day of the air parade during the National Day festivities.
Several of these aircraft are likely to be spotted above Brussels again at some point in the run-up to 21 July.
Les répétitions pour le défilé aérien militaire du 21 juillet 2025 auront lieu aujourd’hui et demain entre 16h21 et 16h26 avec un passage au-dessus de la Place des Palais à Bruxelles. C’est le même heure que le jour du défilé, à savoir le 21 juillet 2025. pic.twitter.com/mgjOQAVFw9
— airportMEDIATION_FR (@airmediation_fr) July 9, 2025
