Overview
- Two armed F-35s launched from Volkel at 10:20 UTC on December 7 under a Quick Reaction Alert issued by air-combat control in Nieuw-Milligen, with Benelux airspace monitored around the clock.
- The Ministry of Defence later confirmed the unknown radar contact was a drone that exited Dutch airspace and posed no direct threat.
- The fighter jets returned to base the same day, and defence said civilian air traffic was unaffected by the incident.
- Defence warned that high-speed scrambles can break the sound barrier and cause a sonic boom, though operational details on the drone were withheld for security reasons.
- Volkel is handling Benelux air policing through January 15 before Leeuwarden takes over, with such Quick Reaction Alerts occurring only a few times per year.