Britain is helping to tighten up NATO’s eastern flank by sending to Poland its new air defence missile system that is capable of shooting down tennis ball-sized targets, it has been reported.
The Sky Sabre missiles, only unveiled last month by the British military, travel at the speed of sound and have three times the range of the Rapier that was previously used by the UK in Kuwait and the Falklands War.
It can reach speeds of 2,300mph targeting planes, drones and bombs.
The new missile system will help bolster the 240km border between Poland and Ukraine over fears over how far Russia may look to push west.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday night that he was sending troops into eastern regions of the Ukraine in what he claimed was a “peacekeeping” exercise.
At the same time he refuses to see the sovereignty of Ukraine and claims that it is part of ancient Russian land.
The US has now called it an “invasion” and believes it plans to attack the rest of Ukraine while there is concern that he may not stop there in recovering land that was lost with the break-up of the Soviet Union.
The UK is reportedly set to send the Sky Sabre missiles shortly to Poland with reports that the army will also provide logistic support.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman told The Sun : “As part of our commitment to European security, the UK will support the long-planned NATO exercise Ramstein Legacy 2022 with the deployment of the defensive Sky Sabre system in Poland.”
Earlier this month Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that another 350 UK soldiers would be sent to Poland.
Britain last year sent troops to Poland to help support it with a migrant crisis at its border with Belarus.
Wallace said: "In that spirit of solidarity and helping share each other's challenges of resilience we will add to those 100 Royal Engineers by sending a further 350 British troops to Poland in a bilateral deployment to show that we can work together and send a strong signal that Britain and Poland stand side by side.”
At the same time Joe Biden announced on Tuesday a redistribution of troops in Europe including the sending of 800 infantry soldiers to the Baltic region and up to eight F-35 fighter jets to several operating locations along NATO's eastern flank, a US official said.
In addition, the United States will send 32 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to the Baltic region and to Poland from locations within Europe.
"These additional personnel are being repositioned to reassure our NATO allies, deter any potential aggression against NATO member states, and train with host-nation forces," the senior US defense official said, adding that none of the new forces were coming from the United States.
The Mirror has contacted the Ministry of Defence for comment.
