Dutch F-35s to guard Polish airspace in NATO move against Russian threat

Dutch F-35 fighter jets will patrol the skies over Poland from September through December as part of a NATO operation aimed at deterring Russian aggression along the alliance’s eastern flank. Outgoing Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans (VVD) informed the Tweede Kamer of the deployment in a letter released Monday.

Brekelmans, who traveled to Poland with Prime Minister Dick Schoof, said the mission is designed to protect critical military equipment destined for Ukraine. NATO has established a logistics hub in Poland to route weapons and supplies to Ukrainian forces.

“By deploying these Dutch F-35s to secure the airspace over Eastern Europe, we are protecting military materiel intended for Ukraine,” Brekelmans said. He emphasized that the presence of the aircraft also allows NATO to respond quickly to any actual or threatened violations of allied airspace. “This is how we keep the Russian threat literally at a distance,” he said.

The Dutch jets will operate under NATO command in close cooperation with Norway. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, the Netherlands has regularly contributed F-35s to similar NATO air policing missions.

At a press conference in Warsaw, Schoof expressed gratitude to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for Poland’s extensive support for Ukraine. Schoof said Poland, together with countries such as the Netherlands, forms “the firmest pillars of support” for Ukraine as it faces sustained Russian attacks. He called the F-35 deployment “a sign of commitment to our shared security.”

During Monday’s visit, the two governments formally signed agreements to deepen cooperation, especially in defense. Schoof praised Poland as a vital partner that has long understood the reality of living under threat. He said Poland “defends and arms itself against it in an impressive way.”

Poland currently allocates the highest share of its national budget to defense among all NATO members. It is the only country approaching the new target of spending 5 percent of its economic output on defense—a benchmark agreed at last month’s NATO summit in The Hague. The Netherlands, by contrast, has only just met the alliance’s previous spending guideline of 2 percent.