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Finland and Sweden jointly scramble jets to intercept Russian aircraft over Gulf of Finland
Finland and Sweden conduct first joint fighter jet intercept of Russian aircraft over Gulf of Finland
Finland and Sweden scrambled fighter jets on Thursday to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Gulf of Finland, marking their first joint operational identification mission under the Quick Reaction Alert cooperation.
The Finnish air force confirmed that Swedish and Finnish QRA jets identified a Russian detachment consisting of a Tu-134 transport aircraft, MiG-31 fighter jets, and Su-30 fighter jets in international airspace over the Gulf of Finland. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on X that the operation demonstrated the readiness and trust built through Nordic, Nordic-Baltic, and broader NATO cooperation.
The incident follows heightened tensions in the region, with Nordic jets regularly scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Both Sweden and Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment to join NATO in response to the war.
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