UK, Poland expand NATO cooperation on airspace protection

The United Kingdom and Poland agreed to work more closely together to counter airborne and missile threats in order to strengthen the protection of their airspace, Brussels-based outlet Politico reports.

The two NATO allies will step up joint training for helicopter pilots and cooperate in the development of new capabilities to counter air attacks, CE Report quotes MIA.

British and Polish troops will train together in virtual environments to improve air defence techniques, while eight Polish military helicopter pilots will undergo training in the United Kingdom under NATO’s military aviation programme. Two Polish helicopter instructors will be permanently deployed at RAF Shawbury in the West Midlands for the duration of the rotation.

The information was announced during today’s visit of Polish President Karol Nawrocki to Downing Street. UK Defence Secretary John Healey called Poland a “key ally of the United Kingdom in this era of growing threats” and said that together they are “strengthening Europe’s defence and countering the threat from Vladimir Putin.”

British fighter jets have taken part in an air defence mission over Poland as part of the allied response to incursions by Russian drones into Polish airspace, with pilots from both countries flying together under NATO’s “Eastern Sentry” mission.

Last year, Healey announced that the British armed forces would receive new powers to shoot down suspicious drones over military sites under the Armed Forces Act, following a series of airspace incursions across Europe. Ministers have pledged to strengthen the UK’s air defences amid concerns that the country is becoming increasingly vulnerable due to the changing nature of aerial threats.

The United Kingdom and Poland have previously cooperated extensively in the field of air defence, including a £1.9 billion (€2.2 billion) export deal signed in April 2023 to equip 22 Polish air defence system batteries, as well as a separate deal worth more than £4 billion (€4.7 billion) to continue the next phase of Poland’s future air defence programme, “Narew.”

Polish President Karol Nawrocki also met today with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, thanking him for the British troops stationed in Poland. Nawrocki mentioned nearly 150 British armed forces personnel deployed on Polish territory as part of the UK’s contribution to NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence, in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Starmer welcomed the agreement for Polish helicopter pilots to begin helicopter training in the UK in the coming months, a move that further integrates the armed forces of the two countries, his office said in a readout of the meeting.

The British prime minister said that “closer cooperation on defence projects is good both for bilateral relations and for European security.”

Starmer thanked Nawrocki for Poland’s involvement in the “Coalition of the Willing” for Ukraine.

— Referring to Ukraine, the leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and that (Russian) President Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted, Starmer’s office said.

Nawrocki said that the United Kingdom is his country’s most important partner outside the EU.

— The United Kingdom is Poland’s most important partner outside the EU, particularly in the market for exports of Polish agricultural products, he said.

Фото: ДПА