THE RAF yesterday took part in its first mission of a beefed-up air defence strategy on Nato’s Eastern flank as Allies warned tyrant Vladimir Putin: “Back off.”
Two Typhoon jets armed with air-to-air missiles took part in an eight-hour mission as Russia stoked tensions by repeatedly breaching Nato airspace.
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Pilots authorised to shoot down unmanned enemy craft in a “danger zone” in eastern Poland left RAF Coningsby, Lincs, in what is the Battle of Britain’s 85th anniversary year.
They were backed by a Voyager air-to-air refuelling plane. Danish F-16s, French Rafales, and German Eurofighters are also part of a rotating aerial defence force which is set to fly nightly missions.
Defence Secretary John Healey said he was “proud” of the Brit pilots and air crew involved in the “successful operation to defend our Allies from reckless Russian aggression”.
He said: “This weekend, as we honour the heroism of the Battle of Britain generation, it’s especially poignant that RAF pilots and crew are once again standing shoulder to shoulder with Poland in defence of our shared security.”
Just hours before the UK jets left, three Russian warplanes spent 12 minutes inside Estonian airspace in a “reckless” bid to intimidate the Baltic state.
They were eventually chased away by Italian F-35 fighters.
Around the same time, two Russian jets flew over the Polish-owned Petrobaltic offshore drilling platform in the Baltic Sea, breaching the oil rig’s safety zone.
Nineteen Russian drones flew more than 100 miles inside Poland earlier this month, while another flew into Romanian airspace.
As Nato increased its defences, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continued.
It fired 40 missiles and 580 drones yesterday killing at least three and wounding dozens.
‘Danger zone’ role in defence for our jets
By Robin Perrie
AFTER refuelling at 25,000ft the Typhoon pilot banked right and roared off in its search for enemy aircraft.
Sitting in the cockpit of the Voyager, the RAF’s mid-air refuelling plane, I listened on as the crew told him: “Happy hunting.”
The Sun on Sunday joined the RAF’s maiden mission on Nato’s beefed-up air defence operation to protect its eastern flank.
Allies acted after repeated incursions into Nato airspace in recent days by Russian drones and jets.
At 8.29pm on Friday night, the RAF joined this new operation for the first time when our Voyager took off from RAF Brize Norton.
Two Typhoon jets departed later that evening from RAF Coningsby, Lincs.
The main operations were far into Poland in an area known as the “danger zone” — near the Russian region of Kaliningrad.
This is where some of the 19 drones which flew into Poland earlier this month were shot down.
The Typhoons — seen by the RAF as “bouncers on the doors” in policing the sky — made multiple trips back to the Voyager to refuel, feeling close enough to touch as they flew just 40ft away while doing 440mph.
Nothing untoward was detected in the eight-hour mission. This time all was quiet on Nato’s eastern front.
But nobody expects it to remain that way.
