RAF jets join Nato air defence mission over Poland
RAF jets join Nato air defence mission over Poland If Vladimir Putin wants an answer, it’s coming. NATO fighter jets are rapidly joining Operation Eastern Sentry in eastern Poland, with the MOD confirming
that RAFTtyphoons will now also be involved in the air policing mission. The announcement of the reinforcement of NATO’s eastern flank comes two days after 19 Russian drones flew into Polish airspace.
Many of these UAVs were unarmed Garan 2Os, a Russian-made version of the Iranian Shahid 136 loitering munition. At least three were shot down, some by Dutch F-35s, with the wreckage of another 15 reportedly falling in eastern Poland, causing some property damage.
This map, produced by Ukrainian social media channels, shows the flight paths.
Some of the Russian drones clearly entered Poland that particular night. German media reports said they were heading towards Jess,
a major hub for military support for Ukraine as well as US forces, with a small contingent of British personnel also based there.
Apparently, it just veered off course and crashed. And it could actually have been the result of a technical malfunction. At the UN, Russia denied launching the intrusion deliberately, claiming that the drones had accidentally strayed into Polish airspace,
possibly due to jamming. But Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk dismissed that as unrealistic. This situation brings us the closest we have come to open conflict since World War II. We have a full-scale war outside the Russian border in Ukraine, but we already have something that goes beyond mere provocation.
And perhaps today we need to say it again very loudly and clearly. Today Poland has a political enemy who cannot hide his hostile intentions beyond its eastern border. A few days later, it happened again.
This time over Romania, another Geran 2 entered Romanian airspace. Two F-16s tracked it for an hour before it turned back to Ukraine. NATO called Russia’s actions reckless and irresponsible, and Secretary-General Mark Rutter and the alliance’s European commander, General Alexis Grinkovic, announced a response, Operation Eastern Century, which is a sign of a.
Kremlin. He said NATO would defend its territory. Eastern Century would be flexible and agile, providing even more focused deterrence and defense when and where needed. It would
include additional enhanced capabilities. It would integrate air and ground defenses and it would increase information sharing between nations. So, who’s sending what to Poland? Well,
France has sent three twin-engine Rafale jets. Germany has deployed four Eurofighter Typhoons. And the Chequers are sending a special forces helicopter unit equipped with Russian-made MI17s.
While the Danes are sending two of their own F-16 fighter jets, along with an air defence frigate. The British Typhoons taking part in the operation will not actually be deployed to Poland.
Instead, they will operate out of RAF Kongsby in Lincolnshire, flying to eastern Poland and returning with the help of Voor air-to-air refuelling tankers from RAF Bray Norton.
The Baltics 13,000 Russian and Belarusian troops are taking part in Zapad 2025, which takes place every four years. This time, Moscow’s focus appears to be on the Baltics and the Barents Sea.
In particular, the small exclave of Kaningrad, a small piece of Russian territory sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. Moscow is clearly aware
that this is where some analysts believe a war between NATO and Russia could start. Surprisingly, the Russian military has released a series of videos designed to show
how well-equipped its defenses are. From a Skanderbeg M ballistic missile mounted on a highway to a hypersonic missile fired from a warship in the Baron Sea and an amphibious assault by Russian marines defending the coastline. Built on the border with
Ukraine, the forces, consisting of 200,000 troops, 80 aircraft, and 290 tanks, eventually invaded Kiev.
During this time, with Moscow’s vast fighting force in the so-called special military operation, Russia is only sending about 8,000 troops. Despite this,
Poland is beyond comprehension. Warsaw has sent 40,000 troops to its eastern border regions and closed all road and rail links to Barus.
It also invokes NATO's Article 4, which calls for immediate talks with other members of the alliance and imposes a no-fly zone along its entire eastern border until December. Lithuania 2 says it will close its borders with Belarus if Vladimir Putin continues to test and test NATO's resolve.