WW3 fears erupt as NATO forced to scramble warjets | World | News
Two warplanes took off from a military base in a NATO country on Sunday after an unidentified aircraft entered its airspace. Two Royal Netherlands Air Force fighter jets hastily took off from the Volkel military base on Sunday.
The Ministry of Defense sounded the Quick Reaction Alert which occurs when an aircraft enters an airspace without identifying itself. QRAs occur several times a year. “We alternate these activities with Belgium and cover the entire Benelux region”, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense.
It is currently unclear why the aircraft was in Dutch airspace and if Russia had any involvement.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense believe it may have been a drone “but not one you’d buy at MediaMarkt”.
It might also have been a passenger aircraft that briefly lost communication with the ground, or possibly another unmanned vehicle.
It comes just days after Poland’s Armed Forces accused Russian military aircraft of posing “a threat to aviation safety” after Polish fighters repeatedly intercepted Kremlin planes flying without transponders over the Baltic Sea.
Last Sunday, November 30, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said: “Polish on-duty pairs of F-16 and MiG-29 have repeatedly intercepted Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea, operating without flight plans and with transponders turned off, which posed a threat to aviation safety.”
The intercepts are the latest in a string of tense encounters along NATO’s eastern flank since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
NATO was once again been forced into action last weekend after four Russian fighter jets sparked an urgent response near the border with Poland.
The MiG-31 aircraft flew towards Russia’s western border, Bild am Sonntag reported, citing NATO sources. Poland and Germany both placed their air defence systems on high alert.
A German Air Force spokesperson told Bild: “There was activity in Russian airspace on Friday, and the air defense forces deployed in Poland responded. This included the two Patriot systems of the Air Force.”
