After the Dutch Air Force’s F-35s have been protecting the airspace of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (the BENELUX states) for the past five months, the Belgian Air Force has been doing so again for a total of four months since the beginning of the year as part of the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA).
The two countries have been alternating the QRA combat capability for some time now. Two fighter aircraft are always on standby for this purpose. Due to their short warning time, they are able to take off within a few minutes to intercept an unidentified aircraft. https://militaeraktuell.at/wenn-die-schweizer-armee-in-oesterreich-uebt/ In the Netherlands, this task is carried out by F-35 fighter jets from the Leeuwarden and Volkel airbases, with control provided by the Air Operation Control Station in Nieuw-Milligen. The Belgians, on the other hand, rely on F-16s (-> 50 years of F-16s and no end in sight), which take off from the bases in Kleine-Brogel and Florennes. Control is ensured by the control and reporting center in Beauvechain. In addition, four Dutch F-35s are currently deployed from Estonia for the QRA. They have been guarding the NATO-airspace on the eastern border of the NATO area there. During this time, the Dutch pilots have already had to intervene several times. This was mainly to intercept Russian aircraft approaching NATO territory.
