Two Belgian F-16s took off on Monday morning from Florennes Air Base to intercept Russian bombers approaching the Dutch airspace over the North Sea.
The two fighter jets intercepted the Russian Tupolev Tu-142s north of the Dutch coast and the Frisian islands of Terschelling and Ameland, the Belga news agency reports based on military sources.
Both bombers flew without a transponder and approached Dutch airspace. The Tupolevs then set course to the United Kingdom and the F-16s could land back at Florennes around 12:00 PM.
Belgium is currently responsible for the defence of the airspace of the Benelux
It is now the second time that the F-16s have to go out to intercept Russian bombers. The previous time was on 15 January 2018.
The Brussels Times
