Earlier today, the Royal Norwegian Air Force confirmed that stealth F-35A fighters were deployed to intercept and monitor the flight of Tu-142 patrol and surveillance aircraft from the Russian Navy. This latest encounter between fifth-generation aircraft and Russian planes takes place against the backdrop of NATO’s Joint Viking 2025 exercise, which has been ongoing in recent days along the coast of Troms, one of Norway’s northernmost provinces.
Through its social media channels, the Royal Norwegian Air Force reported that two fifth-generation F-35 aircraft were put on alert after detecting contacts in international airspace, presumably without a filed flight plan and with transponders turned off. Upon activating Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) protocols, the stealth fighters were directed towards the contacts, confirming that they were aircraft from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Specifically, long-range Tu-142F (Bear F, according to NATO designation) patrol and surveillance aircraft belonging to the Russian Navy’s Naval Aviation were identified.
Although the Norwegian Air Force described this episode as “routine,” the presence of Russian patrol and surveillance aircraft, such as the Tu-142 (an adapted version of the Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber), is presumably aimed at monitoring the military activities that have been taking place in northern Norway since the beginning of the month.
From March 3 to 14, the shores of Troms County in northern Norway serve as the focal point for the Joint Viking 2025 Combined Exercise. This military drill involves over ten thousand personnel from the Norwegian Armed Forces and NATO allies, including Canada, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The exercise aims to “…enhance interoperability among allies, train in protecting NATO’s northern flank, and test Norway’s ability to receive allied reinforcements,” adding that the main drills will be “…conducted in Troms County, in northern Norway. There will also be some air and maritime operations, including exercises at the Tarva firing range, located off the coast of Ørland.”
Finally, this new incident adds to several others recorded across different regions of Europe involving military forces from NATO and Russia. Specifically in Norway, in early February, Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35 fighters were also deployed to intercept and monitor the flight of a patrol of Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers over the Barents Sea.
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