Fighter jets from two NATO countries intercepted several Russian military aircraft on Thursday in a "first" for joint activity between Finland and Sweden, the nations' armed forces said. Finnish and Swedish fighter jets were scrambled after picking up a "detachment" of Russian aircraft, including a Tu-134 transport aircraft and several MiG-31 and Su-30 fighter jets, in international airspace over the Gulf of Finland, Helsinki said in a statement. "This was the first joint operational identification mission [for] our air forces," according to the Swedish military.
Finland and Sweden are NATO's newest members, and ended decades of non-alignment policy by joining the alliance shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. NATO then upped its air policing missions across eastern Europe, and frequently says it intercepts Russian military aircraft travelling in international airspace near NATO nations. While it is not unusual for military aircraft to skirt near to the airspace of other countries, Russia sending its sophisticated bombers close to NATO's borders is generally seen as an intimidation tactic.
The alliance said last month its fighter jets were scrambled more than twice as often in July 2026 as during the same period last year. In the first half 2026 alone, NATO member Norway deployed fighter jets 62 times in response to Russian flights on NATO's northeastern flank, Newsweek reported in July. The Finnish military said its F/A-18 Hornet aircraft were scrambled on Thursday, as well as an unspecified number of Swedish Gripen fighter jets.
"This is what close cooperation looks like in practice," said Major General Jonas Wikman, the commander of Sweden's air force. This is a developing story and will be updated.
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