French Rafale jets in Poland have flown real alert sorties after drone approaches from Ukraine.

France has stepped up its contribution to NATO air policing on the alliance’s eastern flank, with three Rafale fighter jets flying 12 missions and 24 sorties from Minsk Mazowiecki air base, about 50 kilometres from Poland’s capital, Warsaw. The detachment of 68 personnel is tasked with detecting, identifying and, if required, neutralising hostile drones. The aircraft, armed with Mica air-to-air missiles and carrying no nuclear weapons, have responded to live alerts, including tracking drones moving towards Poland from Ukraine that ultimately remained outside Polish airspace.

The Rafales had initially deployed for NATO’s Agile Combat Employment training, then were folded into the “Eastern Sentry” mission roughly a fortnight after arrival. France’s President Emmanuel Macron ordered reinforced airspace protection following Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace on 9–10 September. Eastern Sentry is a multinational effort, with German and British Eurofighters and Danish F-16s operating alongside the French jets.

Paris’s role extends beyond Poland. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, France has bolstered NATO’s presence in Romania, Estonia and the Baltic region, and has trained Ukrainian troops in infantry group leadership, reconnaissance and close-quarters combat. An Atlantic 2 maritime patrol aircraft has been based in Constanța, Romania, since 7 September, conducting surveillance over the Black Sea, including Romanian and Bulgarian territorial waters.

French forces are also deeply engaged in exercises to sharpen interoperability. In Estonia, troops are taking part in “Pikné25” with Estonian, United States and British forces. In the North Sea, the “Neptune Strike” drill pairs a French multimission frigate with the United States Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, focusing on anti-air and anti-surface warfare and cruise-missile firing.

The Arctic dimension is not neglected. In Greenland, the French support vessel Garonne is participating in Denmark’s “Arctic Light 25”, while a French A330 MRTT tanker refuelled Danish aircraft and a French mountain commandos group equipped with drones embedded within a Danish unit.