Allied forces launch joint patrols close to Russia after reviews of drone incursions into allied airspace.
Printed On 11 Oct 2025
The UK has mentioned two Royal Air Power (RAF) plane joined a 12-hour NATO patrol earlier this week close to Russia’s border, following a sequence of Russian drone and plane incursions into alliance airspace.
“This was a considerable joint mission with our US and NATO allies,” Defence Minister John Healey mentioned on Saturday, as considerations rise that Russia’s war in Ukraine will spill over into Europe.
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“Not solely does this present invaluable intelligence to spice up the operational consciousness of our Armed Forces, however sends a strong message of NATO unity to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and our adversaries,” he added.
The mission concerned an RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance jet and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane flying from the Arctic area previous Belarus and Ukraine, supported by a US Air Power KC-135 refuelling aircraft.
British officers mentioned the operation adopted a number of incursions into the airspace of NATO members, together with Poland, Romania, and Estonia.
Rising airspace tensions
In recent weeks, Poland and its allies have bolstered air defences amid growing Russian drone exercise. Earlier this month, Warsaw deployed further programs alongside its border with Ukraine – which stretches about 530km (330 miles) – after unidentified drones briefly entered Polish airspace.
Poland quickly closed a part of its airspace southeast of Warsaw in late September throughout a significant Russian assault throughout Ukraine. It was the second such incident this 12 months, with Polish and NATO forces beforehand intercepting Russian drones that crossed the border – marking their first direct navy engagement with Moscow because the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in 2022.
Elsewhere, airports in Germany, Denmark, Norway and Poland have at occasions additionally quickly suspended flights as a result of sightings of unidentified drones. Romania and Estonia have instantly accused Russia, which has dismissed the claims as “baseless”.
Putin has pledged a “important” response to what he known as “Europe’s militarisation”, rejecting options that Moscow plans to assault NATO as “nonsense”.
“They’ll’t consider what they’re saying, that Russia goes to assault NATO,” he mentioned on Thursday at a overseas coverage discussion board in Sochi. “They’re both extremely incompetent if they honestly consider it as a result of it’s unattainable to consider this nonsense, or they’re merely dishonest.”
Putin mentioned he was intently monitoring Europe’s navy build-up and warned that Russia wouldn’t hesitate to reply. “In Germany, for instance, it’s mentioned that the German military ought to change into the strongest in Europe. Very nicely. We hear that and are watching to see what is supposed by it,” he mentioned. “Russia won’t ever present weak spot or indecisiveness. We merely can’t ignore what is occurring.”
Relations between Moscow and the European Union have continued to deteriorate since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, driving the bloc to strengthen its collective defences amid fears the struggle may spill throughout NATO borders.
