Volkelse F-35s were deployed on Tuesday night to intercept Russian drones in Poland. They have shot so-called shahed drones from the sky. These are Iranian drones with explosives launched by the Russians. It was not the only ‘Brabant’ input: also a tank plane from Eindhoven Air Base came to assist last night. And at the headquarters of the Royal Netherlands Air Force in Breda it will also have been a busy night.
Alarm on the eastern border of NATO Tuesday night. Russian drones invaded Poland airspace. They were devices launched by the Russians. According to the latest reports from the NATO headquarters, they were six to ten drones. The Poles then spoke of ‘nineteen violations of the airspace’. “The drones that were a direct danger were taken down,” said the Polish Prime Minister.
The first reports came out around a quarter to five. Dutch fighter jets assisted with the commitment. Some drones were eliminated by the Polish armed forces with the help of, among others, Dutch F-35s, the message was. Later, outgoing defense minister Ruben Brekelmans confirmed the promotion. They were Iranian Shahed drones that were taken from the sky by Dutch F-35s.
Support from NATO allies
The Polish Air Force flies with its own F-16s. But Poland also receives support from NATO allies, such as the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It also patrols with F-35s in that area. Just like four F-35s from Volkel Air Base.
Those aircraft departed from Volkel Air Base on August 29. Earlier, ground staff went that way, including technicians and monitoring, Defense then reported. They are active in Poland for three months. On which basis was not announced. They protect auxiliary crap on Ukraine. And they form a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) that can take off 24 hours a day to detect enemy devices and possibly shoot down. They work closely with the Norwegians in this.
Two Volkel F-35s were already alerted last week. Then Russia were fired by Shahed drones on the way to the Polish airspace, but they didn’t have to shoot the Dutch fighter aircraft.
The Shahed drones were bought by the Russians in Iran and are armed with explosives. The devices crash in buildings in Ukraine and then explode and that causes victims and damage everywhere
It is not the first time that enemy drones threaten the NATO territory. This has happened since the war with Ukraine broke out in February 2022. Russian rockets also sometimes landed in Poland and there were sometimes victims.
Tank plane
On Tuesday night a tank plane was also called in the Netherlands. This is the M330 of the Royal Netherlands Air Force that is stationed at Eindhoven Air Base. It is visible on radar images that the device always flew an oval -shaped route, between Krakow and Lublin. That is a usual maneuver to give fighter aircraft the opportunity to get fuel. The Eindhoven aircraft can refuel hunters in the air, so that they stay in the air for longer and can continue with their patrols and any interceptions.
The circle of the tank plane did happen at some distance from the border with Ukraine, where the enemy drones came from. The F-35’s are ‘invisible’ on the same radar images, which is also common. The traffic aircraft were clearly diverted last night, at a safe distance from the danger zone.
In addition to the contributions from Volkel and Eindhoven, there are also a few contributions from our province. The headquarters in Breda, for example, coordinates the logistics and supply of all Dutch military planes. It does not control the hunters themselves, because that happens from a headquarters in Germany, just across the border at Nijmegen.
Then there is another military contribution to Poland. The Netherlands supplies two patriot batteries to Poland for the anti-aircraft weather. Those rocket installations come from the Brabant-Limburg basis in Vredepeel.
