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UK jets flew 12-hour mission with US, NATO near Russian border

Earlier this week, the United Kingdom said two Royal Air Force aircraft joined a 12-hour NATO patrol near Russia's border, covering nearly the entire northern-to-southern arc except over Slovakia and Hungary.
The patrol responded to incursions in NATO airspace after several incidents involving Poland, Romania, and Estonia, while earlier this month Warsaw deployed systems along its about 530km border with Ukraine.
The mission paired an RC-135 Rivet Joint with a P-8A Poseidon, supported by a US Air Force KC-135 refuelling plane, with sensors monitoring Russian radar and communications near Crimea and western Russian military districts.
The flights were deliberately visible to reassure NATO members, with United Kingdom Defence Minister John Healey saying `This was a substantial joint mission with our US and NATO allies`.
The mission creates a near-continuous surveillance picture linking Arctic, Baltic and Black Sea sectors as relations between Moscow and the European Union have deteriorated since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

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