Sweden may shoot down Russian planes violating NATO airspace – Air Force commander

The Commander-in-Chief of the Swedish Air Force, Mikael Claesson, does not rule out the possibility that the Swedish military could find itself in a situation where a decision is made to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate NATO airspace, SVT has reported.

"This decision must be made by the pilot of the aircraft in question," Claesson said.

There have been a number of violations of NATO airspace in recent times. These include both confirmed Russian violations - for example, fighter jets that were in Estonian airspace for 12 minutes - and incursions by drones of unknown origin, which have affected Denmark, among others.

European countries, including Sweden, have declared their readiness to defend their borders militarily if the violations continue.

Claesson stressed that the Swedish military would shoot down aircraft as a last resort in the event of a serious violation.

"If you disobey orders, the last resort is to use force, first to spot and then to open effective fire. In other words, to shoot down," he said.

According to Claesson, ultimately, the decision to open fire is made by the pilot of the aircraft that is facing a threat to the Swedish border.

"I believe that our pilots have sufficient training and experience to make decisions in such situations," the commander-in-chief is confident.

Escalation cannot be ruled out, but Claesson does not consider it the most likely development of events.

"I do not think that Russia wants to go to war with NATO. I think that they want to divide NATO politically, show our weaknesses, exploit them and sow fear among our population," he said.