Swedish jets and warships will help Finland monitor its airspace and territorial waters under expanded defense cooperation.
Swedish fighter aircraft and naval vessels will assist Finland in protecting its airspace and territorial waters as part of an expansion of defense cooperation between the two NATO members.
The initiative is intended to improve Finland’s ability to detect and counter drones and sustain heightened monitoring for longer periods.
Helsinki will direct any operations, which will remain subject to Finnish territorial-surveillance law.
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen cited the continuing threat of decoy drones, while both governments linked recent incursions to the wider security effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Helsinki and Stockholm did not disclose when operations would begin or how many Swedish aircraft and vessels could be involved.
Participants attending a training course at the Santahamina military base in Helsinki on May 14, 2022. Photo: AFPRising Security Concerns
The expanded cooperation comes amid growing concern in both countries about Russian military activity and the security of NATO’s northern region.
Earlier this month, Finland’s Defense Ministry said it suspected that a Russian aircraft had entered Finnish airspace.
“Every suspected airspace violation is taken seriously,” Häkkänen said, adding that an investigation was underway.
The recent drone incursions were not Finland’s only territorial security concern.
In May, two Russian military aircraft were suspected of entering Finnish airspace near Porvoo, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Helsinki.
Meanwhile, the Swedish parliament’s defense committee warned that Russia could attempt a military move against a NATO member in the relatively near future if Moscow considered the political conditions favorable.
According to the committee, such a scenario could be intended to test NATO unity and the credibility of Article 5, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on the entire alliance.
