British warplanes will 'take out' Russian drones if they continue to make 'reckless' incursions into Nato airspace.

Defence Secretary John Healey issued a blunt 'message to Moscow' after two RAF fighters were this weekend deployed to the skies over Poland. He said:'Our Typhoons are fully equipped to take out Russian drones that enter Nato airspace. 'And we will not hesitate to act...'

Writing in The Mail on Sunday, Mr Healey declared: 'Britain will not be cowed.'

The defiant stance was Britain's answer to Russian drones flying more than 100 miles inside Poland on Nato's eastern border earlier this month.

However, on Friday, Moscow appeared to escalate its dangerous provocation by sending three powerful MiG-31 warplanes into Estonia airspace. Italian F-35s were scrambled to intercept the Russian jets which then returned to Kremlin airspace.

Moscow denied its warplanes had entered Estonian airspace but Mr Healey insisted Moscow had 'violated Nato airspace' with both fighter jets and drones in 'reckless, dangerous and unprecedented' actions.

And speaking on Friday evening, US President Donald Trump reacted to the incursion by warning of 'big trouble' ahead. He said: 'I don't love it – I don't like when that happens.'

Estonia responded to the violation of its airspace by invoking Nato's Article 4 provision for a consultation among the 32-member alliance, which includes the US, on collective defence against specific threats. Poland issued the same Article 4 request on September 10 after Russian drones entered its territory.

Russia/Nato border tensions mounted as Moscow continued its attacks on Ukraine with a large-scale missile and drone assaults across the country, including in Kyiv, Odesa and Kharkiv.

Ukrainian officials said at least three people were killed, with dozens more wounded.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who is expected to meet Mr Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week, accused Moscow of a 'deliberate strategy to intimidate civilians and destroy our infrastructure'. 

Last night, the Ministry of Defence said the two RAF Typhoons, which left RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Friday, had returned safely yesterday morning.

The Typhoon deployment, their first sortie as part of Nato's Eastern Sentry operation, comes as the UK marks the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain – in which

Polish pilots formed one of the largest and most successful contingents in the RAF.

Mr Healey said: 'This weekend, as we honour the heroism of the Battle of Britain generation, it is especially poignant that RAF pilots and crew are once again standing shoulder to shoulder with Poland in defence of our shared security – making us secure at home and strong abroad.'