VIDEO: Dutch F-16s Intercept Tu-95

The Dutch military has released this video of a close encounter between the Dutch KLu's F-16s and a Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear' maritime reconnaissance aircraft/missile carrier. This marked the fourth time this year that Dutch fighters have been scrambled to intercept Russian bombers.

The Dutch F-16s intercepted two Bears that entered Dutch airspace without identifying themselves on Aug. 17, after the Bears had been shadowed by Danish F-16s. After leaving Dutch airspace, Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons took over.

Back to the familiar scenes like this that we saw often during the Cold War, only with different interceptors, and we get JHMCS-recorded videos to gawk at these days as well.

Dutch F-16 makes wheels-up landing at Belgian airport

A Dutch F-16 has made an emergency wheels-up landing at a Belgian civilian airport, causing the airport to be closed briefly. Flights were delayed but there were no injuries reported.

Netherlands to retire Cougars, trims F-16 fleet in defence cuts

The Netherlands is the latest country to announce more defence cuts with the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu or Royal Netherlands Air Force) set to retire all but its SAR Cougar helicopters in May, while its F-16 fleet will be reduced from 87 to 68 aircraft.

UAE, Netherlands contribute aircraft to enforce Libya NFZ

The list of countries contributing to the enforcement of Libya's no-fly zone grows; the Netherlands has sent a contingent of six F-16s and a KDC-10 to support operations, while the United Arab Emirates has also announced that it is contributing a dozen aircraft, six F-16s and a similar number of Mirage 2000s.

Dutch F-16s intercept Russian Tu-95s over Dutch airspace

Radio Netherlands Worldwide has reported that Dutch F-16 fighters have intercepted a pair of Russian Tu-95 "Bear" long range bombers flying over Dutch airspace. The bombers had previously been intercepted by Norwegian and Danish patrols.

Dutch Apaches leave Afghanistan

The Royal Netherlands Air Force's (RNLAF) Apache helicopters have ended six-year their mission in support of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. In the last six years, Dutch Apaches conducted reconnaissance, escorted air and ground transport, and provided combat support to ground troops.

Dutch to upgrade Cougar helicopters

The Dutch defence ministry has announced plans to perform a mid-life update for its 17 Eurocopter AS532 Cougar transport helicopters from 2012. Eurocopter will upgrade the first two helicopters starting in 2012, with the Dutch Defence Materiel Organisation to modify the remaining examples by 2017.

European transport command opens for business

A new organisation tasked with co-ordinating the military transport and air-to-air refuelling activities of four European air forces has begun operating at Eindhoven air base in the Netherlands. The European Air Transport Command (EATC) is a collaboration between Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands.