February 14, 2023
A Dutch soldier stands guard as a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35 takes off at Graf Ignatievo airbase, Bulgaria, April 14, 2022. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a
formation of three Russian military aircraft near Poland and escorted them out,
the Netherlands' defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday.
"The then unknown aircraft
approached the Polish NATO area of responsibility from Kaliningrad,"
according to Reuters' translation of the ministry's statement.
Kaliningrad is a Russian Baltic
coast enclave located between NATO and European Union members Poland and
Lithuania.
"After identification, it
turned out to be three aircraft: a Russian IL-20M Coot-A that was escorted by
two Su-27 Flankers. The Dutch F-35s escorted the formation from a distance and
handed over the escort to NATO partners."
The Il-20M Coot-A is NATO's
reporting name for the Russian Ilyushin Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft while
the Su-27 Flankers are NATO's reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-28 fighter
aircraft.
Russia's defence
ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment.
The Netherlands'
defence ministry said that eight Dutch F-35s are stationed in Poland for
February and March.
(This story has been
refiled to clarify the interception happened near Poland)
Reporting by Lidia
Kelly in Melbourne Editing by Matthew Lewis
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/dutch-f-35s-intercept-three-russian-military-aircraft-over-poland-netherlands-2023-02-13/
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