Unidentified drones disrupted communications during Dutch military training in Poland
Small drones disrupted communications at a major military exercise by Dutch soldiers in Poland. The Dutch Airmobile Brigade managed to perform its training despite having no advanced protection against the unidentified drones. In fact, their presence made training even more realistic, Brigadier General Frank Grandia, commander of the Airmobile Brigade, told AD.
The Airmobile Brigade had only just begun setting up its camp at a deserted airfield in Poland when the first cars with Belarusian license plates were spotted. Small drones started flying over the base a short time later. It is unclear whether they were related.
The armed forces believed the training grounds to be safe, so they had no advanced drone protection and, therefore, couldn’t determine where they launched from. But the commanding officers decided to push through with the training.
The drones certainly hindered the pilots of the seven Apache and eight Chinook helicopters involved in the training, Commander Pier Schipmölder told the newspaper. But they creatively managed to avoid the drones. “By taking alternative routes, the operations were still able to proceed safely.”
It proved to be a valuable lesson, Brigadier General Grandia added. It perfectly fits the scenario being trained for at the location. Soldiers must be aware that their communications could be disrupted and they could face drone threats, also without advanced defenses. “We train for that here, and it’s a step further than we’ve ever done before.” According to Grandia, training as realistically as possible is essential given the rising tensions in this area, so close to the Russian border.
A few weeks ago, Dutch fighter jet pilots helped shoot down multiple drones in the Polish airspace. According to Poland, Russia had sent the 19 Shahed drones across the border. Drones have also recently been spotted near airports and military sites in various European countries, including Denmark, Norway, and Belgium.
