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The Dutch Ministry of Defense said unidentified drones were observed hovering over a military base used by NATO in the Netherlands.
Military personnel allegedly deployed weapons between 19:00 and 21:00 local time (18:00-20:00 GMT) on Friday in an attempt to shoot down a drone spotted near Volker Air Base, north of Eindhoven.
The Defense Department said the equipment “left and was never recovered.”
The Netherlands is one of a number of Nordic countries that has seen drone sightings around military installations and airports in recent months. Russia has denied accusations of involvement in previous incidents.
Dutch police are investigating Friday’s incident. Officials said they would not provide further details about how the drone was used or what actions were taken for security reasons.
In addition to being used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force, Volkel Air Base also hosts a U.S. Air Force squadron affiliated with NATO.
This follows reports of drone sightings at other Dutch air bases over the past few weeks, as well as at facilities in neighboring Belgium, Denmark and Germany.
The sightings disrupted air traffic and raised safety concerns.
The investigation into the incidents has been plagued by a lack of evidence indicating their origin since it began in September, as in many cases the drones left after a period of time.
Some European officials attributed the sightings to “hybrid warfare” on the part of Russia, as the countries targeted are allied with Ukraine.
But the Kremlin denies that this has anything to do with past incursions.
Defense ministers from 10 EU countries have agreed to build a “drone wall” in response to these sightings, while some countries are seeking to introduce counter-drone defense measures.
