“This doesn’t happen often”, says the Dutch Ministry of Defense, after sending F-16s to drive away two Russian bomber aircraft.
Still, the ministry is relieved they responded with a “Quick Reaction Alert”. Yesterday two Russian long-range bomber planes headed over the area currently being monitored for NATO by the Netherlands but were successfully interjected thanks to speedy action.
An international affair
It’s unclear whether it’s the same pair of Russian planes that were spotted in the UK, NOS reports.
That’s right… two Russian bomber planes were also detected (as well as intercepted) in the north of Scotland today before they were able to cause damage.
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The Danish airforce was also involved at one point. After spotting the Russian bombers crossing international waters in the north of their country, they managed to intervene in time so that the bombers were forced to turn back.
Dutch responsibility
At the moment, the Netherlands is on monitoring duty. Since April, it has been the Netherlands’ responsibility to defend the Benelux airspace. So far, they have also successfully blocked Russian aircraft from Poland on several occasions.
Now the two Dutch F-16s that came to the rescue yesterday have returned to Volkel Air Base. In collaboration with Belgium, the Dutch are protecting the airspace by having two armed F-16s on standby 24/7.
Hopefully, that thought helps everyone sleep at night…
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