The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force sent three Typhoon multi-role combat aircraft to Poland for Exercise Astral Knight 24.
Over 50 personnel from the 140 Expeditionary Air Wing traveled for the military event from Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase in southeastern Romania to the 31st Air Base in Krzesiny, Poland.
Astral Knight is part of the Large-Scale Global Exercise organized by the U.S. European Command to bring allied nations and partners together. The 10-day capstone integrated air and missile defense exercise expected about 5,000 participants from six nations, including Poland, the U.K. and the United States.
During the event, Typhoons from the RAF IX Bomber Squadron conducted joint air operations with the F-16 Fighting Falcons of the Polish Air Force.
“Our role in the exercise is conducting DCA, which stands for defensive counter air. We’re going up and acting in a very defensive posture against a simulated attack on European countries,” shared an RAF Typhoon pilot.
Following the conclusion of the multinational exercise on Saturday, the Typhoon aircraft and IX Bomber Squadron returned to Romania to carry out Operation Biloxi, NATO’s enhanced air policing mission over the Black Sea region.