Russian Tu-22M3 Bombers: Sweden sent two JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets into the air on April 20, 2026, after Russian military aircraft were seen flying over the Baltic Sea. The Swedish Air Force said the mission was to identify and follow the group as it moved near Gotland. The Russian formation included two Tu-22M3 long-range bombers and two fighter jets flying with them.
The aircraft were first seen northeast of Gotland at about 10:00 local time. Jonas Bäsk from the Swedish Armed Forces told SVT that the planes came from the Gulf of Finland, moved toward Bornholm, and then went back the same way. Swedish officials also said the Russian aircraft never entered Swedish airspace and stayed over international waters the whole time.
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The Swedish Air Force later shared a message online that said, “Swedish QRA fighter jets intercepted two Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bombers over the Baltic Sea today. The bombers were escorted by two Russian fighter jets, and the interception was coordinated with NATO allies.”
Sweden joined NATO in March 2024 and has since been taking a bigger role in Alliance air policing work. Swedish Gripen jets were deployed to Malbork in Poland in April 2025, and Sweden also led a NATO Icelandic Air Policing rotation from Keflavík in January 2026.
Russian Bombers were Tracked
As the Russian group kept flying south toward the area around Bornholm, the tracking mission was passed on to Denmark. Swedish reporting said Danish F-35A jets took over near Bornholm. Denmark’s F-35 fleet had already started taking on national quick reaction alert duties in 2025 as it began replacing the F-16 in that role. This handover showed how closely Sweden and other NATO countries are now working together when Russian aircraft fly near the region.
Pictures released after the mission showed the bombers flying with fighter cover. Some later reporting linked the escorts in the Swedish intercept images to Su-30M2 fighters, while Russian reporting said Su-35 aircraft escorted the bombers during the wider flight.
Separate reporting from The Associated Press said the larger Russian mission over the Baltic that day involved about 10 escort fighters in total, including both Su-30s and Su-35s, with different NATO countries responding as the aircraft moved through the area.
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Moscow says it was a Planned Mission
On the Russian side, the Ministry of Defense said the flight was planned and took place over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. Russian officials said the sortie lasted more than four hours and followed international airspace rules. They also said foreign fighter aircraft followed the bombers during parts of the route.
The Tu-22M3 bomber is known in NATO as Backfire. It is a fast long-range bomber mainly built for strike missions at sea and is usually armed with Kh-22 or Kh-32 cruise missiles. Reports on this latest mission said at least one bomber appeared to be carrying a live Kh-32 under its fuselage. These bombers are not seen over the Baltic as often as some Russian surveillance aircraft, but they were reported there earlier this year too, including on January 22, 2026
