British fighter jets have flown their first NATO air defence sortie over Poland as part of NATO's Eastern Sentry mission, aimed at strengthening the Western alliance's defences following a Russian drone incursion this month.

The mission, announced by the UK government in the immediate aftermath of the incursions into Polish airspace, sends "a clear signal: NATO airspace will be defended", Defence Minister John Healey said in a statement.

Two Royal Air Force Typhoons took off from a British military base in eastern England on Friday night to patrol Polish skies and deter and defend against aerial threats from Russia, including drones, the statement said, adding that they returned safely to the UK early on Saturday.

The British government said it was a response to the "most significant vi

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