The Finnish Armed Forces pre-announced the U.S. flight and made a statement saying “There have been no changes in Finland’s military security situation or environment in the recent past. Flight operations with international partners are art of normal bilateral and multilateral cooperation.”
However, Thursday’s flight was all but normal. This is the first time in history that a U.S. RC-135 Rivet Joint made a sortie inside Finnish airspace.
The plane, which took off from Mildenhall Air Base north of London, first flew over the Baltic States before entering Finnish airspace east of Helsinki. The large reconnaissance aircraft continued north all along the border with Russia.
Unlike when Russian military aircraft are flying over international airspace in Europe, the U.S. RC-135 had its transponder system turned on, making it visible even to public air traffic tracking systems like FlightRadar24.com.
A few kilometers inside the Arctic Circle, the American aircraft turned 180 degrees and followed the same path south. The northernmost part of the flight crossed over Rovaniemi airport, home to Lapland Air Command which is in charge of Finland’s air defense and surveillance in the north.
As previously reported by the Barents Observer, Rovaniemi Air Base will be the first to receive new F-35 fighter jets as Finland starts replacing the current fleet of F/A-18 Hornets in 2026. Läs artikel