Finnish and Swedish fighter jets scrambled together for the first time on Sept. 24 to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Gulf of Finland.
The joint mission marked a historic milestone in Nordic defense cooperation, with Finnish F/A-18 Hornets and Swedish JAS 39 Gripens responding after Russian planes were detected in international airspace, according to the Swedish Armed Forces. The Russian formation included a Tu-134 transport plane, MiG-31 supersonic interceptors, and Su-30 multirole fighter jets designed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.
“This is what close cooperation looks like in practice,” Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman, commander of the Swedish Air Force, said in a statement following the operation.
“Built over years on trust and strong personal relationships, we can now operate seamlessly together — as air forces, as nations and as Allies.”
The intercept came one day before Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed European warnings about Moscow’s threat to the region and mocked Estonia’s new defense minister over the Baltic state’s preparations for a potential Russian attack. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum on Friday, Putin pushed back against such warnings.
“Many people in Europe say they expect an attack from Russia and therefore claim they must prepare for war with Russia,” Putin said.
“I want to emphasize once again: we are not preparing for military action against Europe. We have no such plans, no basis for them, and, most importantly, no real motive to escalate the situation with Europe.”
Putin then targeted Estonian Defense Minister Martin Herem specifically, after Herem had warned that Russia could be capable of using military force against Estonia within a year and argued that Tallinn must assess whether its defenses are sufficient.
“As we jokingly say in Russia: ‘The circus has left, but the clowns remain.’ It is political clowning. … Clearly, these statements are complete nonsense and absurdity,” Putin said, according to EurAsia Daily.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated that the government is ready to shut down border crossing points on short notice if threat assessments change, according to reports.
The Sept. 24 joint scramble reflects deepening military integration between Finland and Sweden since both nations joined NATO. Finland became the alliance’s 31st member in April 2023, roughly doubling NATO’s land border with Russia, and Sweden followed as the 32nd member in March 2024. Estonia, which regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, has been a NATO member since 2004 and sits across the Gulf of Finland from Finland.
NATO has intensified its posture along the eastern flank amid a string of airspace violations and hybrid threats since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. These incidents have included Russian drones entering Polish airspace, a Mi-8 helicopter crossing from Kaliningrad into Poland, drones crashing in Romania and Moldova, and armed Russian jets entering Estonian airspace before being intercepted by NATO aircraft on Sept. 18.
NATO said in June that it was enhancing protection of its eastern members in the cyber and space domains while helping countries build resilience against hostile Russian actions, including cyberattacks, sabotage and airspace violations. The alliance maintains that its military activities are entirely defensive and that it is “ready, willing and able to defend every Ally.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently underscored Washington’s role during a visit to Iowa, saying that Putin “knows that the United States and Europe are totally intertwined.”
“We have to make sure that we are prepared, we are strong, and he knows it,” Rutte said.
“And if he does anything silly, he knows our reaction will be tough,” he warned.
European intelligence officials said Sept. 24 that Russia could test NATO’s defenses. Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service assessed the risk of a limited Russian military attack against a NATO country in the coming months as “low but growing” and said Moscow is expected to intensify its hybrid campaign against NATO and the West. The service said a full-scale Russian invasion of a NATO member remains highly unlikely but can no longer be ruled out.