Norwegian F-35s identified 107 Russian aircraft by the end of September — Interia

In Norway, F-35 fighter jets carried out 77 operational sorties and identified 107 Russian military aircraft by September 29. According to the Norwegian Air Force, this is the highest interception figure in the past ten years, Interia reports.

Russia is an aggressor state. Over nine months, the number of operational sorties by Norwegian fighter jets was twice as high as during the entire previous year. In 2025, 53 Russian military aircraft were identified during such operations.

F-35s on duty at Evenes base

Two F-35 fighter jets are on duty every day at Evenes base and are on NATO readiness. They can be deployed on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) missions. Once an alert is announced, the crews have 15 minutes to get the aircraft airborne.

Norwegian Air Force spokesperson Sigurd Tonning-Olsen said that the main task of such sorties is to identify unidentified aircraft approaching Norway and to prevent them from entering Norwegian airspace. He clarified that during the interceptions, Russian aircraft were in international airspace.

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Activity declined in autumn

The latest QRA intervention involving Norwegian aircraft at the time the statistics were published took place on September 16. According to Tonning-Olsen, Russian aviation activity declined somewhat in autumn compared with spring.

The spokesperson also noted that Russian aviation activity decreased after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Therefore, in his assessment, the current 77 missions are not an extraordinary figure from a historical perspective.

Brynjаr Stordal, a representative of the Norwegian Armed Forces headquarters, suggested that the increase in Russian aviation activity may be linked to monitoring areas near Russian territory and concerns about possible Ukrainian attacks in the north, including with the use of aerial and maritime drones.