The United Kingdom will involve its Eurofighter Typhoon fighters to strengthen the air defense of the eastern flank of NATO as part of Operation Eastern Sentinel, which was announced after the incident with russian UAVs in Poland.
This is stated in a message on the official website of the Ministry of Defense of the UK.
The fighters will be based at the Royal Air Force Coningsby air base in Lincolnshire. From there, they will fly to Poland to perform air defense missions. How many aircraft are planned to be involved is not specified.
The fighters will be supported by Voyager tankers based at Brize Norton air base.
"Royal Air Force Typhoons will join allied forces, including from Denmark, France, and Germany, to bolster NATO's defence and deterrence along its eastern flank," the statement said.
British aircraft are expected to begin flying to Poland in the coming days.
Russian drones flew into Poland. NATO scrambled fighter jets
On the night of September 9-10, russian drones flew into Polish territory, violating the country's airspace. This happened during a massive air attack by the aggressor country russia on Ukraine.
According to the Polish authorities, the Polish military recorded at least 19 cases of airspace violations. Later, the number of such reports increased to 21. Most of the UAVs flew from the territory of Belarus.
Poland and its NATO allies scrambled fighter jets, which shot down some of the drones. Later, it became known that the wreckage of 16 drones and one missile of unknown origin was discovered.
How did the Polish authorities react to the incident with russian drones
The day after the incident, on September 11, the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry, Radosław Sikorski, stated that the russian UAVs were deliberately launched towards Poland. This was not a mistake or a deviation from the course.
Later, Sikorski said that the incident with the russian drones was a test that russia arranged for NATO countries.
NATO announced Operation Eastern Sentinel
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced on September 12 that the alliance was launching Operation Eastern Sentinel. Its goal is to strengthen NATO's eastern flank against the backdrop of the incident with russian UAVs.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on September 11, Sweden urgently sent additional fighter jets and air defense systems to Poland.
Also on September 11, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that three French Air Force Rafale fighter jets would be deployed to Poland to help protect the country's airspace.
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