Royal Air Force Typhoons have flown their first NATO air defence sortie over Poland as part of NATO’s EASTERN SENTRY mission.
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Press Release, Whitehall, 20 August 2025: [extract] Royal Air Force Typhoons have flown their first NATO air defence sortie over Poland as part of NATO’s EASTERN SENTRY, strengthening the Alliance’s defences on its eastern flank following a reckless Russian drone incursion.
Two British fighter jets took off from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Friday night, supported by an RAF Voyager aircraft, to patrol Polish skies and deter and defend against aerial threats from Russia, including drones. They returned safely to the UK early Saturday morning.
This first operational mission follows the reckless and dangerous incursion by Russian drones into Polish sovereign airspace – the most significant violation of NATO airspace by President Putin to date since his illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine – and further breaches of NATO airspace by Russian jets and a drone over the past week.
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