Breaking news
Belgian Air Force scrambles F-16s to intercept Russian Tu-160 bombers over North Sea.
| 2018
| a | |||
|
World Aviation Defense & Security News - Belgium
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Belgian Air Force scrambles F-16s to intercept Russian Tu-160 bombers over North Sea
|
|||
|
Two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers have been intercepted by a pair of Belgian Air Force's F-16 fighter jets after flying into Dutch airspace over the North Sea on Monday morning, January 15. The F-16s took off at 11:21 am (10:21 GMT) from Florennes AB upon request of the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) in Uedem, Germany.
|
|||
|
|
|||
 A Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber similar to those intercepted today over the North Sea(Credit: Tupolev) |
|||
|
|
|||
|
"Today, 2 F16 successfully intercepted 2 Russian TU-160 Blackjack bombers above the North Sea, within the Dutch area of responsability of NATO airspace," the Belgian Air Force (Air Component) confirmed today on its Twitter account.
"At 11:51 am (10:51 GMT), the F-16 pilots made a visual identification. This occurred over the North Sea, in the north of the Netherlands, at an altitude of 27,000 feet (9,000 m)," the Belgian MoD stated. The two F-16s escorted the Russian bombers across the North Sea where they were met by two Royal Air Force Typhoons dispatched from Lossiemouth airbase in Scotland. An RAF Voyager KC3 air-to-air refuelling jet was also sent from Brize Norton. "The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea," an RAF spokesman said.
Two BAF F-16s are ready to take off 24/7 within minutes in the event of an alert. A procedure called "Quick Reaction Alert" (QRA) activated by the Belgian Defense Control and Reporting Center (CRC) based in Glons for the Belgo-Luxembourg area and by the Air Control Station in Nieuw-Milligen for the Dutch area. |
|||