fighters Saab JAS-39 Gripen of the Swedish Air Force intercepted Russian military aircraft on Monday (11). The actions over the Baltic Sea took place on the same day that Sweden officially became the 32nd nation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The two interceptions were coordinated by NATO's Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) in Uedem, in southern . In the first alert, the military alliance body led by the United States detected an unidentified target without a flight plan over the Baltic Sea.
Swedish Gripen fighters were called in to intercept the plane, with from F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters Belgians, operating from Šiauliai Air Base, in Lithuania. The target was identified by the military as a Tupolev Tu-134 Crusty enger jet, with Russian Naval Aviation markings, flying from the Kaliningrad exclave to mainland Russia.
Later, the CAOC detected another unidentified aircraft and activated fighters Eurofighter Typhoon from , which took off from Lielvarde, Latvia, together with the JAS-39 Gripen. German and Swedish interceptors visually identified a Russian military aircraft, this time an An-26 Curl turboprop freighter, also without a flight plan.
Halfway through the mission, the CAOC assigned the fighters to shadow another Russian plane, again identified as a Tu-134. Once the interceptions were completed, the fighters of the Belgium, and Sweden returned to their bases safely.
In images released by NATO, none of the Gripens are seen carrying missiles, only underwing fuel tanks and LITENING pods for target identification and air-to-ground weapons guidance. The 27mm cannons, however, were possibly loaded.
The interceptions are part of NATO's permanent Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission. The Organization has been responsible for Baltic air defense since 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania ed the military alliance. During the BAP, the allies regularly take turns to carry out the mission, employing detachments of four to six fighter planes and 50 to 100 soldiers in northern Europe.
Although it has already participated in actions alongside NATO, last Monday's interceptions mark the Swedish military's first real mission as part of the military alliance. “It is an impressive demonstration of the deep integration that the Swedish Air Force has achieved with NATO Air Policing forces and the close and smooth interoperability in of NATO's safeguard in the Baltic Sea,” highlighted the NATO Air Command.
Sweden, together with Finland, decided to the Organization in 2022, abandoning its historic neutrality status. The decision is the result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a war that has completed two years without any concrete prospect of an end. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary general, said Sweden's entry shows that the alliance's doors are open and that no one will be able to close them.
