Dutch F-35 intercept, escort away Russian warplanes nearing Polish airspace

Dutch F-35 jets intercepted and escorted away three Russian warplanes after they neared Polish airspace on Monday, said Dutch Defense Ministry.

The Russian IL-20M Coot-A reconnaissance and signals plane and two SU-27 Flanker fighter planes were escorted "from a distance and handed over escort to NATO partners," said the ministry.

NATO air command said on Monday morning that German Eurofighters shadowed the Russian craft, "who were posing a danger to other air users by ignoring international air safety rules."

This was the first scrambling of the Dutch fighters since deployed at the Malbork air base in northern Poland. The jets are tasked with monitoring NATO airspace and "air policing" until the end of March.

Other Russian aircraft patrolled near American airspace in the Bering sea, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday morning.

"Two Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers of the Russian Aerospace Forces completed a planned flight over the neutral waters of the Bering Sea," said the ministry.

The bombers patrolled for seven hours with a Su-30 escort. The ministry emphasized that such aircraft regularly fly over neutral waters and that all flights are carried out in accordance with conventions on use of international airspace.

The Bering Sea divides the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula and Alaska.