British fighter jets have conducted a Nato air defence mission over Poland as part of an allied response to Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace, the Ministry of Defence said.

The RAF Typhoon jets were deployed over Poland on Friday night as part of the military alliance’s mission to bolster its eastern flank.

Tensions have escalated following repeated Russian violations of Nato members’ airspace this month – with a drone detected over Romania and then warplanes in Estonia’s airspace following the incursions into Poland. Russia has denied or downplayed the violations.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the RAF flights sent “a clear signal: Nato airspace will be defended”.

He added: “I’m proud of the outstanding British pilots and air crew who took part in this successful operation to defend our allies from reckless Russian aggression.”

Two fighter jets took off from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Friday night to patrol Poland’s skies, supported by an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft, before returning to the UK early on Saturday, the MoD said.

Nato had announced the mission, dubbed the Eastern Sentry, on 10 September following 19 drone incursions into Polish airspace.

Then Healey confirmed that the UK would be involved when he visited RAF Brize Norton five days later.

Describing Russia’s actions as “reckless, dangerous and unprecedented,” he said: “When we are threatened, we respond together.”

Moscow maintains that it has “no plans to target” facilities in Poland.

Drones and missiles have sporadically veered into countries bordering Ukraine in the years since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

But the arrival of 19 drones into Poland on a single day was the most serious incident of its kind and the first time a Nato member has directly engaged Russian drones since the war began, with Poland shooting down three of them.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two”.

Romania was the second Nato country to report a Russian drone had breached its airspace on 14 September.

Then on Friday, Estonia requested an urgent consultation with other Nato members after three Russian warplanes entered its airspace “without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes”. Russia has denied violating Estonia’s airspace.

Nato’s Article 4, first triggered by Poland after Russia’s drone incursion, allows member countries to bring any issues of concern to the North Atlantic Council, the alliance’s main political decision-making body.

The RAF operation comes 85 years after the Battle of Britain, when Polish pilots fought alongside the RAF to thwart sustained German air attacks in Britain’s skies during World War Two.

“It is especially poignant that RAF pilots and crew are once again standing shoulder to shoulder with Poland in defence of our shared security,” Healey said.

Marshal Harv Smyth, chief of the Air Staff, said the UK’s “partnership with Nato has never been stronger”.

“We remain agile, integrated, and ready to project airpower at range.”