F-35s scrambled to intercept unknown aircraft near Volkel Air Base

The Royal Netherlands Air Force scrambled two F-35 fighter jets from Volkel Air Base on Sunday morning after an unidentified aircraft entered Dutch airspace without proper identification, the Ministry of Defense said.

The alert, known as a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA), is triggered when defense personnel detect a potential airspace violation. "During these operations, aircraft may break the sound barrier," the Air Force warned on X (formerly Twitter). "A sonic boom may be heard."

A spokesperson for Defense told RTL, "We do not know what it was. This could be a drone, an unknown passenger plane, or an aircraft without radio." Further details about the aircraft’s type or origin were not released, and officials declined to confirm whether the F-35s have returned to base.

The incident comes two weeks after multiple drones were spotted over Volkel Air Base and Eindhoven Airport. At that time, ground-based weapons were deployed in an attempt to intercept the drones, but the operation failed. "The drones departed and were not recovered," Defense said. "It is unclear who was behind the drones."