On a chilly Friday evening in late November 2025, an unsettling sequence of events unfolded in the skies above the Volkel Air Base, a highly sensitive military installation near the Dutch city of Eindhoven. Between 7 PM and 9 PM, air force personnel and security staff detected a swarm of unidentified drones hovering over the base, triggering an urgent response that would soon reverberate far beyond the Netherlands’ borders.
According to multiple reports, including those from NL Times and BBC, the incident began when security staff at Volkel initially spotted five drones in the restricted airspace above the base. The count quickly escalated to ten, intensifying the sense of alarm among those tasked with protecting one of the Netherlands’ most strategically significant military sites. Volkel Air Base is not just home to Dutch F-35 fighter jets; it also hosts a US Air Force squadron as part of NATO, underscoring its critical role in European defense.
As the drones circled above, the Dutch military sprang into action. The Koninklijke Marechaussee, the Dutch military police, confirmed that officers opened fire on the drones using ground-based weapons in an attempt to bring them down. Yet, in a twist that left many scratching their heads, the drones managed to leave the area unscathed and were not recovered. “Volkel is one of our most sensitive and best protected bases,” Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans emphasized, as quoted by NL Times. The Ministry of Defense, however, declined to disclose how the drones were detected or what specific weapons were deployed, citing security reasons. The reasoning? To avoid tipping off any potential adversaries about the military’s capabilities.
The incident at Volkel was not an isolated event. Earlier that same week, a large number of drones had been sighted over the port area of Terneuzen, another sensitive location, on Monday evening. Additional unexplained drone sightings have been reported near the NATO command center in Brunssum, at Maastricht Aachen Airport, and even at Schiphol, the nation’s largest airport. The National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security described this uptick in unexplained drone activity as “worrying,” reflecting growing unease among security officials across the region.
In response to the Volkel incident and subsequent sightings, Dutch authorities made the rare move to suspend all air traffic above Eindhoven on Saturday, November 22. Both civilian and military flights were grounded as a precaution after more drones were spotted near the main airport, according to BBC. Minister Brekelmans assured the public that “counter-drone assets” were ready to intervene, but again, remained tight-lipped about specifics.
These events are part of a broader trend sweeping across northern and central Europe. In recent weeks, similar drone incursions have been reported over airports and military installations in Belgium, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Norway, and Denmark. Some of the affected sites are closely tied to NATO operations or house advanced military hardware, raising the stakes for national and regional security.
Investigators are now faced with a vexing mystery: Who is behind these drone incursions, and to what end? Despite ongoing efforts by the Koninklijke Marechaussee and Dutch police, as well as their counterparts in neighboring countries, the origins and intentions of the drones remain elusive. The lack of engagement or recovery of the drones after their flights has only deepened the uncertainty. Since the wave of incidents began in September, authorities have struggled to gather concrete evidence. In most cases, the drones simply depart after a short while, leaving little trace behind.
The situation has sparked a flurry of speculation among European officials. Some have pointed fingers at Russia, suggesting that the drone sightings may be part of a campaign of “hybrid warfare” aimed at sowing confusion and testing the defenses of NATO-aligned nations. The Kremlin, for its part, has flatly denied any involvement, maintaining that it has nothing to do with the incursions. This back-and-forth has done little to calm nerves among those tasked with safeguarding Europe’s skies and critical infrastructure.
In the wake of these incidents, defense ministers from ten European Union countries have agreed to create a so-called “drone wall.” This collaborative initiative aims to bolster the continent’s defenses against unauthorized drone activity, with individual nations also moving to secure advanced anti-drone measures. The details of these plans remain under wraps, but the urgency is clear: European militaries and security agencies are scrambling to adapt to a rapidly evolving threat that is as difficult to counter as it is to trace.
It’s not just the military that’s on edge. The proliferation of drone technology has made it easier than ever for both state and non-state actors to conduct surveillance, disrupt operations, or even carry out sabotage. Drones are strictly banned above airports and military bases in the Netherlands, but enforcement is tricky when the devices can be launched from miles away and controlled remotely. The recent incidents have exposed gaps in existing security protocols and underscored the need for new strategies to detect, track, and neutralize rogue drones before they can cause harm.
As investigations continue, the Dutch Ministry of Defense and its partners are weighing the broader ramifications. The inability to recover or identify the drones after the Volkel incident has left authorities with more questions than answers. How did the drones evade detection until they were directly above such a heavily protected site? What technologies are being used to control them? And, perhaps most importantly, what is the ultimate goal of those sending drones into restricted airspace across Europe?
For now, the skies above Volkel and other sensitive sites remain under heightened scrutiny. Security staff and military personnel are on high alert, ready to respond at a moment’s notice should the mysterious drones return. The hope is that ongoing investigations—and the new wave of anti-drone initiatives—will soon yield the answers and tools needed to keep Europe’s airspace secure.
In the meantime, the Volkel drone incident stands as a stark reminder of the challenges posed by modern technology in an era of shifting threats and blurred battle lines. With each new sighting, the urgency to adapt grows stronger, and the race to secure the skies continues unabated.
