London, September 16 (HS): Britain will send Royal Air Force Typhoon jets to help defend Polish skies in response to last week’s large-scale Russian drone incursion, Defence Secretary John Healey announced, marking a significant escalation in NATO’s security posture along its eastern flank.

The aircraft, operating from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire with support from Voyager refuelling tankers, will join Danish F-16s, French Rafales and German Eurofighters already patrolling Poland’s airspace under NATO’s Eastern Sentry mission. The move comes after Warsaw reported that 19 Russian drones entered its territory in what Prime Minister Donald Tusk described as the “closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two.”

Healey condemned Moscow’s actions as “reckless, dangerous, and unprecedented,” declaring: “Putin tested NATO, NATO responded with unity, and the UK will play our full part. When we are threatened, we respond together.” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer echoed the sentiment, calling Britain’s role “vital in deterring aggression, securing NATO airspace, and protecting our national security.”

The incursion, believed to have involved unarmed Gerbera ‘decoy’ drones, prompted Poland to trigger NATO’s Article 4 clause, leading allies to intensify their collective defenses. While no casualties were reported, the incident marks the first direct engagement of a NATO member with Russian drones since the Ukraine war began in 2022.

Adding to concerns, Romania also confirmed a Russian drone briefly breached its skies over the weekend, though officials said it vanished from radar without posing imminent danger.

With NATO reinforcing its eastern frontier, the alliance’s leaders have sought to send a clear signal to Moscow of unified resolve, underscoring growing fears that the conflict risks spilling further beyond Ukraine’s borders.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar