"A powerful signal to Putin and his enemies". British scouts patrolled the Russian border for half a day
P-8A Poseidon aircraft (Illustrative photo: Boeing)

On October 11, the United Kingdom announced that earlier this week, two of its military aircraft, along with US and NATO forces, conducted a 12-hour mission to patrol the Russian border amid recent violations of Alliance airspace by Moscow, reports Reuters.

"Not only does this provide valuable intelligence to boost the operational awareness of our Armed Forces, but sends a powerful message of NATO unity to [the Russian dictator] Putin and our adversaries," said the minister of defense of the Kingdom John Healey.

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On Thursday, October 9, an RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic reconnaissance aircraft and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, which is also capable of conducting reconnaissance, flew from the Arctic region past Belarus and Ukraine with the support of a KC-135 refueling aircraft from the US Air Force.

The kingdom noted that it carried out the operation after Russia's incursions into the airspace of the North Atlantic Alliance, including incidents in Poland, Romania and Estonia.

  • On October 9, the Financial Times reported that NATO is considering an armed response to Russia's hybrid warfare, in particular by deployment of combat drones along the border with Russia.
  • The European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on EU member states to shoot down air targets, in particular, Russian planes and drones illegally violating the bloc's airspace.
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