Finland and Sweden identify Russian jets together for first time

Russian Su-30 fighter jets, seen during the first joint identification mission for the Finnish and Swedish air forces on 24 September 2026. (Swedish Air Force)

Finnish and Swedish combat aircraft have conducted their first joint operational identification mission, intercepting a formation of Russian military aircraft over the Gulf of Finland.

Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornets and Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripens on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) were scrambled on 24 September 2026 to intercept and identify the Russian aircraft in international airspace, the Finnish Air Force announced in a news release on 25 September.

The mission was directed by the Finnish Air Force's Air Operations Centre (AOC) and involved the identification of a Russian formation comprising a Tu-134 ‘Crusty' transport aircraft, MiG-31 ‘Foxhound' fighters, and Su-30 ‘Flanker-H' fighters.

“The deeper cooperation that began this autumn enables joint identification missions and allows QRA fighter jets to operate from the other country's air bases,” Colonel Vesa Mäntylä, deputy chief of staff at Air Force Command Finland, said.

The mission represents the first operational application of an expanded Finnish-Swedish territorial-surveillance arrangement announced on 28 August. Under the arrangement, Sweden agreed to support the surveillance and protection of Finland's territorial integrity with JAS 39 Gripen fighters and a Visby-class corvette in the Baltic Sea region until at least the end of 2026. Finland said the Swedish contribution would particularly reinforce air surveillance and release Finnish resources for responding to potential violations and incidents.