Finland and Sweden Conduct First Joint Interception of Russian Aircraft Over Gulf of Finland

Finnish and Swedish fighter jets were deployed together for the first time on Sept. 24 to intercept a formation of Russian aircraft detected over the Gulf of Finland, according to the Swedish Armed Forces. The Russian group included a Tu-134 transport, a MiG-31 interceptor and Su-30 multirole fighters, all operating in international airspace.

Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman, commander of the Swedish Air Force, said the operation demonstrated "what close cooperation looks like in practice," adding that years of trust had enabled the two air forces to operate seamlessly.

The joint scramble follows a series of recent airspace violations by Russian forces along NATO’s eastern flank, including drone incursions into Poland, a helicopter crossing from Kaliningrad into Poland, and Russian jets intercepted over Estonia on Sept. 18. NATO has emphasized that its activities in the region are defensive and that any attack on a member would trigger a collective response.

The incident occurred one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed European warnings about a potential threat and mocked Estonia’s new defence minister. Estonia’s defence minister warned that Russia could consider military action within a year, while the prime minister said the government could close border crossings on short notice if needed.

Finland, which joined NATO in April 2023, and Sweden, which became a member in March 2024, now share a coordinated air defence posture with Estonia, a NATO member since 2004, as part of the alliance’s broader effort to bolster security in the Baltic Sea region.