The UK is sending its most advanced radar and missile defence system to Poland as it seeks to bolster NATO’s eastern flank amid Russia’s escalating military action against Ukraine.
The deployment of the Sky Sabre air defence system – in a decision that was announced on Wednesday, before Russia launched its invasion last night – is intended to create a “no cross air line” stretching for 240 kilometres along Poland’s eastern border with Ukraine.
The units would be temporarily posted to Poland as part of “long-planned Nato exercise Ramstein Legacy 2022”, a British defence ministry spokesman told The Sun. They are expected to be deployed soon, along with support and logistics backup.
Sky Sabre, which was only unveiled last month, launches missiles at speeds of 2,300 miles per hour that can target objects as small as a tennis ball, and can be used against planes, drones and rockets.
The lorry-mounted weapon consists of Giraffe radar units and Landceptor missile launcher platforms from which up to 24 missiles can be simultaneously controlled by a central unit.
It replaced the Rapier Missile system used by the UK for the past 50 years. Defence procurement minister Jeremy Quin hailed Sky Sable as “cutting-edge”, “spearheading technology” and a “clear demonstration of our warfighting capabilities to those who wish to do us harm”.
Russia’s military buildup around Ukraine in recent weeks has seen Western countries rally to support Kyiv, but also to boost their presence in Poland. Both the US and UK have recently increased their numbers of troops stationed there.
Earlier this month, the UK, Ukraine and Poland launched a trilateral security agreement, with London and Warsaw pledging to support Kyiv “in the face of Russian aggression”.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland’s government today called for NATO to trigger Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. President Andrzej Duda spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky this morning, reiterating Poland’s support for its eastern neighbour.
Main image credits: UK MOD Crown copyright
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
