A foreign military aircraft nearly collided with a commercial passenger airplane in Sweden Photo: ALAMY Swedish officials have expre...
A foreign military aircraft nearly collided with a commercial passenger airplane in Sweden Photo: ALAMY
Swedish officials have expressed concern about how a military jet - flying with its transponders switched off - almost collided with a passenger plane, in a series of events which echoes a move by a Russian jet in March
Swedish authorities say a foreign military aircraft nearly collided above southern Sweden with a commercial passenger plane that had taken off from Copenhagen.
Swedish Air Force chief, Maj. Gen. Micael Byden, said Saturday that the military aircraft's transponders, which make the plane visible to commercial radar, were shut off.
Swedish fighter jets were sent up to identify the plane, but he declined to disclose its nationality.
However, suspicion will certainly fall on Russia.
Nato said last week that its Baltic air patrol intercepted more than 30 Russian aircraft on Monday alone over the Baltic Sea and off the coast of Norway. And Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are on heightened alert as Russian military planes and warships skirt their airspace and sea borders on a daily basis, in what they call "unprecedented" Russian activity
Mr Byden said the Friday midday incident in international air space looked "pretty serious," adding that the southern-bound commercial flight, which he didn't identify, was immediately ordered to change course.
Mr Byden said it was not as serious as in March - when a Russian plane flying without transponders, came within 300 feet of an SAS plane that had taken off from Copenhagen.
But Sweden is used to dealing with suspected Russian incursions.
In October Sweden launched a search for a foreign submarine which illegally entered its waters. It was called off after a week, with Russia refusing to accept that it was involved.
Mr Byden said the Friday midday incident in international air space looked "pretty serious," adding that the southern-bound commercial flight, which he didn't identify, was immediately ordered to change course.
Mr Byden said it was not as serious as in March - when a Russian plane flying without transponders, came within 300 feet of an SAS plane that had taken off from Copenhagen.
But Sweden is used to dealing with suspected Russian incursions.
In October Sweden launched a search for a foreign submarine which illegally entered its waters. It was called off after a week, with Russia refusing to accept that it was involved.
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