Dutch Military Fires at Drones Over Air Base in First Recorded Incident

The Dutch military opened fire on drones spotted over Volkel Air Base in the east of the country, but the aircraft managed to leave the area.
The Dutch Ministry of Defense reported the incident.

According to the Ministry, base security personnel detected the drones between 19:00 and 21:00 on Friday, prompting the Air Force to use weapons in an attempt to bring them down.

However, the drones escaped the gunfire and flew out of the base’s airspace.

“After the report, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee and the civilian police were notified. They are conducting further investigations. It is currently unclear why the drones were flying over or near the air base. For security reasons, the Ministry of Defense does not disclose how the drones were detected or what means were used to counter them,” the Ministry stated.

In the Netherlands, drone use near any airport is prohibited for flight safety and security reasons at military sites.

Volkel is one of three main operational bases of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and hosts the 313th Squadron, which flies F-35s.

As of 2023, Volkel is one of six active air bases across five European countries that store U.S. B61 nuclear bombs.

In early November, three “large” unidentified drones were spotted over Belgium’s Kleine Brogel Air Base, which also stores B61 bombs.

Following that incident, the Belgian armed forces were ordered to shoot down any unidentified drones over military installations. German military units were also deployed to Belgium to help counter the drone activity.

According to the NL Times, the Volkel incident followed another large-scale event earlier in the week, when a significant number of drones were observed over the port of Terneuzen on Monday evening.

The drones were reported over the port area and the Dow chemical plant — sites classified as no-fly zones due to their critical infrastructure status.

Johan Bresselers, a spokesperson for North Sea Port, said he saw between 12 and 20 drones on Monday evening. Police are investigating, but no arrests have been made.

Similar incidents have also been reported near the NATO command center in Branscombe, at Maastricht-Aachen Airport, and at Schiphol.