Finnish and Swedish Quick Reaction Alert fighters have jointly intercepted and identified Russian military aircraft over the Gulf of Finland, in what Sweden says was the first operational identification mission conducted together by the two air forces, according to the Swedish Armed Forces.
The fighters were scrambled on 24 September after Russian military aircraft were detected operating in international airspace over the Gulf of Finland. Finnish and Swedish QRA aircraft were then used together to intercept and identify the aircraft, with the Swedish Armed Forces describing the sortie as the first joint operational identification mission carried out by the two countries’ air forces.
Quick Reaction Alert aircraft are maintained at readiness to respond to unidentified or potentially concerning military aviation activity, allowing fighters to launch at short notice to locate and identify aircraft approaching or operating near national and allied airspace.
Major General Jonas Wikman, Commander of the Swedish Air Force, said: “This is what close cooperation looks like in practice. Built over years on trust and strong personal relationships, we can now operate seamlessly together – as air forces, as nations and as Allies.”
The mission involved operational QRA forces rather than a training event, with the Russian aircraft remaining in international airspace according to the Swedish statement.
Sweden and Finland are both NATO members and have increasingly integrated their air operations, including joint training and coordination of air policing and defensive activity across the Nordic region.
