Late yesterday evening, the Royal Air Force deployed Typhoon fighter jets and a Voyager tanker from RAF Coningsby to conduct air defence patrols over eastern Poland, in direct response to mounting Russian airspace violations along NATO’s eastern flank.
The mission, carried out under NATO’s new Eastern Sentry activity, saw British jets launch from Lincolnshire at short notice before flying eastward into Polish airspace. According to tracking services, the Typhoons completed several hours of patrols before returning to the UK in the early hours of this morning.
The deployment comes after three Russian MiG-31 fighters breached Estonian airspace on Friday in what Tallinn described as an “unprecedentedly brazen” incursion. Earlier this month, Russian drones also crossed into Poland and Romania, prompting Warsaw to invoke Article 4 of the NATO Treaty and triggering alliance consultations.
Eastern Sentry was activated last week following Poland’s request for support. It involves a multi-national package of aircraft and forces positioned to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, with Germany, Denmark, France and the United States already contributing. The UK pledged to send Typhoons and Voyagers as part of its response.
By conducting last night’s sortie, Britain has underlined its role as one of NATO’s frontline contributors. The flights also signal London’s intent to meet Russian testing of allied airspace with immediate military presence.
Moscow has repeatedly dismissed NATO’s concerns and accused the alliance of “escalating tensions.”
The Ministry of Defence has not yet released official details of the sortie, but the deployment fits a wider pattern of rapid reinforcement across the eastern flank. NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, recently described Eastern Sentry as a demonstration of the alliance’s ability to react “quickly and decisively” to threats.
Launching CAP from the UK over Poland is not an optimal use of our limited jets. We need to forward base these aircraft in Germany or Poland. The problem, as always, is we simply do not have enough aircraft. having just 6 Typhoon and 2 F35B operational Sqns is about half of what is required.
‘quickly and decisively’ as long as you wait while the get there, assuming the Germans refuel and we fly supersonic all the way over there it’s probably going to be an hour at least before we get there.
I have a hard time understanding what’s going on with operation Eastern Sentry. It’s been made very clear to me mostly by commentators on this website that the US is solely responsible for defending Europe and that most European counties are completely defenceless and can do next to nothing useful without uncle Sam carrying them.
Yet all the aircraft defending NATO against Russia seem to be European.
I can’t find much if any mention of the worlds greatest military providing anything beyond administrative support while The Netherlands, Italy, UK, France and Germany all seem to be actually providing hard assets.
Am I missing something here? Perhaps one of our MAGA commentators could point out all the major US defence contributions I am missing.
This may help to clear up the perennial misunderstanding of how 70,000 US personnel in Europe can provide more security than the 1.8 million European NATO personnel actually based on the continent.
Is this sarcasm or genuinely looking for an explanation of the US’s role within NATO?
Bit of both 😀
Just wondering why when there are Russian incursions into NATO air space there have been no US forces deployed or engaging yet i am constantly told Europe is defenceless and America defends Europe.
I just can’t equate the rhetoric with the actual reality. The two brigades and four squadrons the US has in Europe don’t seem to be much of a defence. Most of the smaller NATO members have more force than that guarding Europe.
The US does an arming job keep the North Atlantic area safe from any incursion by Mexico I just don’t see there forces doing much defending anywhere but Alaska.
Or am I missing something.
I don’t think you are, Trump clearly doesn’t want to get actively involved while Putin is absolutely testing US will to get involved here, that is a very dangerous combination that could get us progressively into a shooting war at some point by Russian miscalculation. Let’s see where the next test is, interesting that the Alaska meeting has only encouraged Putin to be ever more provocative, as the visuals we saw suggested he clearly saw nothing in Trump to fear, it certainly seems he only gets tough with friends and the weak, or those who don’t have incriminating evidence on him perhaps.
Just to add the old term ‘Paper Tiger’ has never been more true than when describing Trump who is a weak bully thrashing around aimlessly and coming up short apart from the delusional rhetoric almost everywhere. Sadly despite his falling popularity and influence far too many are still listening to it enabling this idiot to survive.
I’ve never disparaged NATO’s non-US capabilities, but to your question the US Aegis ashore sites in Romania and Poland are probably helping with surveillance, and the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group is in the North Sea/Baltic area right now if needed.
Hello Jim, I got to ask who are all these people telling you Europe is defeneless ?
Sounds like you are listening to a bunch of Halfwits, I should stop bothering with them and engage with the vast majority who don’t say such rubbish.
I read there are also serious incursions over Estonia, rebuffed by Italian F-35s, far more brazen than the normal testing of boundaries. Given that British forces in Poland and Estonia are supposedly deployed as a “trigger”, it does make me wonder, what will it trigger? Is there a spear behind the tip?
Hello again Jon, I just checked and appears we do have the Spear Shafts but they are not fitted with tips.
My Aussie mate reckons you could always bend the shafts and use them as Boomarangs.
“my boomarang won’t come back”
(you got to imagine Charlie Drake saying that to get the full effect)