Dutch fighter jets intercepted a pair of Russian bombers in Dutch airspace Wednesday, CNN reported.
The action is fairly routine, a Dutch official told CNN.
Maj. Wilko Ter Horst said that the military learned around 3:50 p.m. (9:50 a.m. ET) that two Russian TU-95 bombers, known as Bears, had come a half-mile inside its airspace.
A pair of Dutch F-16 military jets were then dispatched to escort the Russian planes and "ensure they (flew) out of our airspace," said Ter Horst, a Dutch military spokesman.
Such a sequence of events isn't uncommon, with the Netherlands military spokesman explaining "this is a national procedure when aircraft infringe (on) national Dutch airspace." He estimated Dutch fighter jets scramble to check out unknown aircraft -- be they from Russia or another country -- about four or five times a year. […]
In a separate and "standard" event, Britain's HMS Dragon met up with the Russian ship Vice Admiral Kulakov as it was "transiting past the UK," according to the military spokesman. The British naval destroyer is now "keeping an eye on its transit south," he added.
