Belgium strengthens defense against drones: PIORUN system presented

Belgium has presented a new air defense system aimed at expanding its capabilities in the face of drone incursions that have forced the closure of the country’s airports in recent months and hit other infrastructure such as military bases and a nuclear power plant. The Minister of Defense Theo Franken delivered the system today LIGHTNING at the Hevaerlee barracks (Leuven, central Belgium).

The system is a shoulder-fired weapon with a long barrel, designed to neutralize large drones, helicopters and low-speed aircraft from the ground. “Drones are transforming the battlefield. Following last month’s drone incidents, the government has decided to accelerate investment in counter-drone capabilities,” Francken said in a post on the social network X, adding that “detection, identification and neutralization are not a luxury, but a necessity.”

This equipment, produced and acquired in Poland, includes a rapid response kit for these devices and will be available at every Belgian military base starting in January, according to the Belgian news agency. In recent months, drone accidents have been recorded in several Belgian infrastructures, including the airports of Brussels-Zaventem, Antwerp, Ostend and Liège, leading to their temporary closure and the cancellation of dozens of flights.

Accidents also occurred near the Doel nuclear power plant (in the north of the country) and at the military bases of Elsenborn, near the Belgian border with Germany, and Marche-en-Famenne (in the south of the country). Belgian intelligence services believe that a state actor, probably Russia, is responsible for these actions. Last year, 30,000 drone accidents were recorded in Belgium, but the planes only had to change course twice.