Six Swedish Gripen multirole combat aircraft and six British Eurofighter Typhoons have landed in northern Poland to take part in NATO deterrence operations.
The aircraft will be used in NATO’s Enhanced Air Policing program, which forms part of measures introduced to protect the alliance’s eastern flank following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The RAF Typhoons arrived on Friday, a day after the Gripens flew in to the 22nd Air Base near the northern Polish town of Malbork. The two deployments will serve together in their NATO roles.
Chris Brown, the defense attaché of the British embassy in Warsaw, said the Typhoons sent a clear signal of Britain’s engagement in the region’s security and demonstrated the close partnership between the U.K. and Poland. The Typhoons will stay in Malbork until the end of July.
The deployment of the Gripens is the first time these planes have been stationed outside of Sweden, which joined NATO a year ago in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A formal welcoming ceremony will be held for the aircraft in the presence of Sweden’s defense minister, Pål Jonson, on April 1.
The RAF Typhoons arrived on Friday, a day after the Gripens flew in to the 22nd Air Base near the northern Polish town of Malbork. The two deployments will serve together in their NATO roles.
Chris Brown, the defense attaché of the British embassy in Warsaw, said the Typhoons sent a clear signal of Britain’s engagement in the region’s security and demonstrated the close partnership between the U.K. and Poland. The Typhoons will stay in Malbork until the end of July.
The deployment of the Gripens is the first time these planes have been stationed outside of Sweden, which joined NATO a year ago in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A formal welcoming ceremony will be held for the aircraft in the presence of Sweden’s defense minister, Pål Jonson, on April 1.
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