http://www.janes.com/article/49759/bene ... r-policing
Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands signed an agreement on 4 March 2015 on the joint air policing of their territories.
Under the agreement - signed in The Hague by Dutch defence minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, her Belgian counterpart Steven Vandeput, and Luxembourg's ambassador to the Netherlands Pierre-Louis Lorenz -
the Belgian Air Component and Royal Netherlands Air Force will take turns keeping two F-16s on quick reaction alert (QRA)
defending the airspace of all three countries from not only military threats but also against renegade aircraft.
The joint air policing effort will begin in mid-2016.
In a worst-case scenario Belgium could order a Dutch aircraft patrolling Belgian airspace to shoot down a renegade aircraft,
while the Netherlands could similarly order a Belgian fighter patrolling Dutch airspace to do likewise.
In Belgium the decision would be made by the Belgian defence minister in consultation with the prime minister and minister of the interior,
while in the Netherlands the decision would be the responsibility of the minister for security and justice.
Luxembourg, which has no air force and is currently covered by Belgian QRA, does not allow the use of deadly force over its territory.
The formal arrangement follows a letter of intent signed by Belgium and the Netherlands on joint air policing in October 2013.
The agreement now has to be ratified by the three countries' parliaments and approved by their executive branches,
a process which is expected to take up to a year.
After that, details like the length of the rotations of the Belgian and Dutch aircraft on QRA will be worked out.
The Netherlands also agreed to make its helicopters available to fight large wildfires in Belgium.
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