British Royal Air Force to fight 'aggression' over the Black Sea
British Typhoon fighter jets will join the NATO air police mission over the Black Sea to combat "potential aggression," the Royal Air Force press service reported.
During an official ceremony at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Romanian airbase, NATO representatives gave formal accreditation for the RAF Typhoons to commence NATO Enhanced Air Policing missions over the Black Sea. According to Lieutenant General Rubén Carlos García Servert, the commander of the Combined Air Operations Centre at the Spanish airbase of Torrejon, such actions demonstrate alliance unity.
The representative of Great Britain also stressed the need to patrol the airspace over the Black Sea to prevent possible threats. "Such air policing missions ensure we would be able to rapidly and efficiently tackle any potential aggression or threat against the Alliance or its members," said British Ambassador to Romania Paul Brummell.
Since early 2018, NATO reconnaissance aircraft have repeatedly flown near the western borders of Russia. In late January, it became known that American RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles were flying missions over the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimea.