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Belgian F-16s intercept Russian jets over North Sea

14:13 15/01/2018

A pair of Belgian F16s took to the skies above the North Sea on Monday morning to join British and French military in intercepting two Russian bomber jets. The Russian Tupolev Tu-160s were detected in the close vicinity of both Dutch and British airspace.

The Russian jets were flying unannounced towards Europe, so Nato requested that they be intercepted at approximately 10.00 this morning. The so-called Quick Reaction Alert, which responds to unidentified or unexpected military craft in European air space, was successful, and the Russian bombers pulled back.

The Belgian Air Force reported that the jets flew very close to the Wadden islands, where Dutch F-16s are stationed. The Dutch were not involved in the interception mission as Belgium is responsible for the entire Benelux area for this mission.

It is not unusual for the Russians to probe European airspace: Last year, the UK’s RAF fighters sent interception jets twice when Russia either came close to or infiltrated its air space.

Written by Lisa Bradshaw