Sweden summons Russian Ambassador after Su-27 came within 20 meters of Swedish SIGINT Aircraft

Sweden summons Russian Ambassador after Su-27 came within 20 meters of Swedish SIGINT Aircraft

By Dario Leone
Feb 25 2019
Share this article

The Swedish SIGINT plane was on a routine mission in international air space over the Baltic Sea between Gotland and the Baltics

As reported by The Local, Russia’s ambassador to Sweden has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Feb. 24, 2019 to explain why a Russian Navy Su-27 came within 20 meters of a Swedish military aircraft on Feb. 19.

The Swedish aircraft is likely a Gulfstream IV that is modified with Signals intelligence (SIGINT) payloads.

Foreign Ministry press spokeswoman Diana Qudhaib told SVT that the Russian ambassador will meet with the ministry’s head of European security policy on Feb. 25.

“The Foreign Ministry views this incident as serious. The Russian plane acted in an improper and unprofessional manner in a way that jeopardized flight safety,” Qudhaib told the broadcaster.

The Swedish SIGINT plane was on a routine mission in international air space over the Baltic Sea between Gotland and the Baltics when a Russian Su-27 fighter jet took off from Kaliningrad and approached the Swedish plane.

According to Colonel Anders Persson, the Russian fighter jet pilot behaved aggressively.

Sweden summons Russian Ambassador after Su-27 came within 20 meters of Swedish SIGINT Aircraft
This model is available in multiple sizes from AirModels – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS.

“First they passed from the front and they came back and positioned themselves very, very close – closer than usual,” he told news agency TT.

Persson said that the Russian Su-27 was at one point within 20 meters of the Swedish plane. He said the “offensive behavior” was likely a signal from Russia that it did not believe the Swedish plane “should be where we were”.

The Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) reported the incident to the government, and now the Foreign Ministry said it wants answers.

“This took place over international waters and the Swedish plane was fully within its right to fly in the area,” Qudhaib said.

Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist called the incident “unacceptable”.

“This was very unnecessary, provocative and very dangerous,” he said.

Sweden summons Russian Ambassador after Su-27 came within 20 meters of Swedish SIGINT Aircraft

Photo credit: Försvarsmakten


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices