On Thursday, November 14th, the NATO Air Command stated that Norwegian F-35 fighter jets were scrambled into the air in response to the sighting of Russian aircraft over Norway and the Baltic Sea.
According to the NATO Air Command, on Tuesday NATO launched fighter jets in response to Russian aircraft that were not following international norms, with Norwegian F-35 fighter jets being deployed into action.
The NATO Air Command also mentioned that the Italian Air Force intercepted a Russian Coot-A aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea, while Norwegian F-35 fighter jets spotted multiple Russian aircraft near the Norwegian coast.
Henrik Omtvedt Jenssen, spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces, informed the media that the Russian aircraft included two Tu-95 strategic bombers and two Su-33 fighter jets. Jenssen also stated that the behavior of the Russian aircraft was safe and professional.
In recent months, such incidents have occurred multiple times, with both Russia and Western countries deploying fighter jets to intercept each other’s aircraft.
According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the UK Ministry of Defence reported that the Royal Air Force scrambled two Typhoon fighter jets into the air near British airspace after detecting a Russian military aircraft on Thursday.
During the flyover of a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber under the NATO codename Bear-F over the North Sea, Typhoon jets conducted surveillance on the aircraft.
The Russian Defence Ministry previously stated that in July, Russian fighter jets urgently intercepted two US Air Force B-52H bombers approaching the Russian border. The ministry mentioned that the B-52H bombers turned away when Russian jets approached and did not violate the country’s borders.
Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer, stated that Norway received its first F-35 in 2017 and played a significant role in the development and production of the aircraft. Local companies were involved in manufacturing parts and providing services for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
In 2023, Norwegian defense contractor Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace won a contract worth 1.2 billion Norwegian kroner (approximately 1.1 billion US dollars) for the production of parts for the F-35 program.
Kongsberg stated that the deal covers the production of rudders, vertical edges, and main landing gear doors for three variants of the F-35, involving over 300 aircraft in total.