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Sweden Deploys Fighter Jets and Corvettes to Help Defend Finland’s Borders
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The Swedish military will participate in surveillance and defense operations across Finnish territory using Gripen fighter jets and military corvettes until at least the end of 2026, the Finnish armed forces said on Friday, August 28, Reuters reported.
Sweden and Finland, NATO’s two newest members, maintain close bilateral defense ties. Finland maintains a 1,340-kilometer (833-mile) eastern border with Russia.
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"Swedish equipment, in particular, enhances air surveillance, freeing up the Finnish Defense Forces' own resources to repel violations and incidents if necessary," the Finnish armed forces stated.
"Sweden responded to Finland's request to strengthen its air defense due to the deteriorating security situation," Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson told Reuters. He added that under the agreement, Swedish armed forces can assist Finland in repelling violations of Finnish territory if necessary.
He stated that beyond fighter jets and vessels equipped with drone combat capabilities, Sweden can also supply ground-based anti-drone systems.
Military drones straying into the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have raised concerns that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is spreading toward NATO's northern borders with Russia.
As Ukraine increases strikes on Russian oil shipping ports in the Baltic Sea, some stray drones have missed targets, prompting safety warnings in neighboring countries.
Previously, Sweden's parliamentary defense commission warned in a report covered by Bloomberg on June 12 that Russia could seek to test NATO's cohesion and commitment to mutual defense through a military attack in the "relatively near term."
The commission stated that such action could come if the Kremlin assessed that "political conditions are favorable," even when the balance of forces fell short of the traditional threshold for an attack, Bloomberg reported.
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