Two possible drones were seen on camera images at Volkel Air Base on Thursday afternoon around a quarter to five. A spokesperson for the Royal Military Police confirms this. An investigation will be conducted at the air base on Thursday evening.
The Royal Air Force and Military Police have taken action, according to the spokesperson. In the event of a drone report, the Air Force searches for the drone and tries to remove it from the air.
The Marechaussee is looking for the driver of the drone. Based on the camera images, the spokesperson cannot yet say whether these are actually drones. “Movement has been seen in the sky,” he said. Nothing has been taken off the air yet on Thursday evening.
Combat helicopter spotted
According to eyewitnesses, an Apache attack helicopter flew above the airbase without lights for hours. That is an American attack helicopter designed to eliminate ground targets and perform other missions.
A spokesperson for the Royal Netherlands Air Force confirmed that a helicopter was used to search for the possible drones when movement was spotted on camera images. “No shots were fired. The helicopters were only used to track possible drones,” the spokesperson said.
Two weeks ago, several drones were spotted above the air base. Defense tried to take them down with weapons. Drones were also spotted above Eindhoven Airport that weekend. Air traffic was therefore halted for hours.