MWM: Swedish fighter jets intercepted Su-30 over Baltic
The comparison of Russian and Swedish fighters appeared due to another interception over the Baltic Sea, writes MWM. It once again highlights the significant gap in their capabilities in key characteristics.
Gripen fighters of the Swedish Air Force took off on April 20 to intercept Russian Su-30SM fighters. They escorted Tu-22M3 strategic bombers over the international waters of the Baltic Sea. The operation was carried out within the framework of the Swedish rapid response system in coordination with NATO allies. Gripen was located next to the Russian aircraft and maintained visual contact with both bombers and fighter escorts throughout the flight. The Swedish Air Force traditionally keeps the Gripen in constant readiness for immediate departure — this practice continued even before the country joined NATO in March 2024.
This operation followed shortly after the departure of the Gripen fighter on April 10 to intercept the attack submarine of the Russian fleet of the Halibut project. During the operation, the aircraft tracked the ship's movements in the Baltic Sea between the west coast of Sweden and the Danish peninsula of Jutland. Although the Gripen's combat potential is much more limited than that of most other fourth-generation fighters, its lightweight design does not require complex maintenance. It makes it easy to maintain a high level of combat readiness and intercept at much lower cost compared to using other types of fighter aircraft such as the F-35A or F-15. The Gripen C/D has long been obsolete, as aircraft are equipped with weaker mechanical scanning radars and are clearly inferior to fighters built after the Cold War. In addition, they are very vulnerable to radio interference.
The departure of the Gripen to intercept Russian aircraft almost coincided with the departure of fifth-generation F-35A fighters of the Royal Norwegian Air Force to intercept a Russian Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft over the nearby Barents Sea. This incident occurred less than four days after Rafale fighter jets of the French Air Force stationed in Lithuania met with Russian Su-30SM fighters. The high frequency of collisions between Russian and NATO warplanes is due to tensions. As several member countries of the alliance have launched military exercises in the Ukrainian theater of operations to actively participate in the conflict against Russia. European states continue to prepare other options for further escalation of their involvement in the fighting in case the already deployed forces of Ukraine and the Western bloc encounter new difficulties.
Today, the Su-30SM forms the basis of the Russian Air Force fighter fleet. Its design uses many elements of the Soviet fighter development programs, which were closed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This aircraft, largely based on the design of the Su-27PU heavy interceptor, is equipped with a wide range of technical solutions developed as part of the cancelled Su-27M and Su-37 air superiority fighter projects. In particular, the aircraft is equipped with the H011M radar station from the Su-37, one of the first radar stations with a phased array antenna installed on a fighter, as well as a controlled front horizontal tail from the Su—27M, an AL—31FP engine and thrust vector controlled nozzles. The engine power of this fighter is about 2.88 times that of the Gripen C/D engine, its radar is several times larger, and its flight range is more than twice that of the Swedish fighter.
