NATO co-operation sends a clear message

An increase in the number of troops co-operating has sent a clear message about the Alliance’s resolve, says defence secretary.

The Defence Secretary Michael Fallon visited HMS Ocean on Exercise Baltops in Poland where he met personnel on board and was briefed on HMS Ocean’s role and her capability to launch helicopter-borne assaults and landing craft carrying Royal Marines and armoured vehicles.

He later went to the RAF Typhoon detachment conducting Baltic Air Policing in Estonia and met pilots and ground crew to discuss their role in defending above the UK’s NATO allies in the Baltic region including the recent mission which saw RAF jets intercept two separate undeclared Russian aircraft near Baltic airspace.

The Defence Secretary said: ”I am hugely proud to see the men and women of the RAF continuing their watch over our allies on the eastern borders of the NATO alliance. Our on-going presence here sends a clear message that we will stand with our Eastern European partners. The UK has a pivotal role to play in ensuring global security, and if we fail to defend our allies as well as ourselves, we risk encouraging adventurism and instability elsewhere in the world.”