A Finnish and a Swedish fighter jet were intercepted by Russian aircraft operating in international airspace over the Baltic Sea. According to the STD agency, the pilots of the Russian fighter jets did not announce their flight plan in advance and headed towards the Russian border. In a joint Swedish-Finnish operation, these machines were transported beyond the Baltic Sea.
A Finnish F/A-18 Hornet and a Swedish JAS-39 Gripen were hit when two Russian fighter jets taking off from the Königsberg region flew into international airspace without reporting a flight plan, the STT news agency reported on Wednesday.
Russian pilots were reportedly heading towards the Russian border, but civilians did not make contact with air traffic control.
Finnish FA-18 HornetVanderWolf Images/Shutterstock
Swedish JAS-39 GripenPeter R. Foster IDMA/Shutterstock
Russian fighters were sent out to the Baltic Sea
A joint Swedish-Finnish operation to evacuate Russian fighters from the Baltic Sea took place on Monday as part of NATO’s rapid reaction alert. Russian fighter jets flying over international waters were reported by allies in German Udemy, as well as by Finns and Sweden, NATO confirmed.
Finland joined NATO in the spring of 2023, Sweden in March of this year. The air forces of these countries oversee their airspace, which has also become NATO’s common space, coordinating with the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOCs) located in Germany, which is responsible for surveillance in northern Europe.
Main photo source: Peter R. Foster IDMA/Shutterstock