The Swedish fighter jet met the Russian fighter jets of the type Mig-31 over the Baltic Sea and took over surveillance from other allied fighter jets. The Gripen then followed the Russian aircraft through international airspace towards the Russian enclave Kaliningrad, according to the Swedish Armed Forces in a press release.
No violation of Swedish airspace occurred during the operation.
"Swedish incident preparedness is always ready to carry out operations to maintain our territorial integrity. We are in close contact with our allies and are always ready to protect our own and NATO's territory", writes the Swedish Armed Forces.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson calls the Russian violation "very remarkable".
"This incident, like other recent Russian violations of NATO countries' airspace, illustrates once again the seriousness of the Russian threat to European security and that our and NATO's preparedness is constantly being tested", says Kristersson in a statement.
