British fighter jets have flown their first NATO air defense sortie over Poland as part of NATO’s Eastern Sentry mission, the government said, aimed at strengthening the Western alliance’s defenses following a Russian drone incursion this month.

Axar.az informs, citing Reuters, the mission, announced on Monday by the UK government in the immediate aftermath of the incursions into Polish airspace, sends “a clear signal: NATO airspace will be defended,” defense minister John Healey said in a statement.

Two Royal Air Force Typhoons took off from a British military base in eastern England on Friday night to patrol Polish skies and deter and defend against aerial threats from Russia, including drones, the statement said, adding that they returned safely to the UK early Saturday morning.

The British government said it was a response to the “most significant violation” of NATO airspace by Russian President Putin to date since his illegal full-scale war in Ukraine.