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Finnish, Swedish, and Dutch fighter aircraft were scrambled on Tuesday Dec. 17, 2024 to identify and monitor Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea, which turned out to be carrying inert supersonic cruise missiles.
The first intercept was made by F/A-18 Hornets from the Finnish Air Force, which were met by Dutch F-35A Lightning IIs deployed to Estonia on a Baltic Air Policing mission, who took over escort duties. Finally, Swedish Gripens assumed the mission east of Gotland.
Intercepts of Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea are routine, with the Dutch F-35A contingent having done so only a week ago. More uncommon, however, is the intercept of visibly armed Russian bombers. In this case, each Tu-22M3 ‘Backfire’ appears to be armed with a single Kh-22 or Kh-23 missile (referred to by NATO as AS-4 Kitchen). This large missile can reach speeds in excess of Mach 4, and travel upwards of 600 km, while carrying a conventional or nuclear payload.
The Russian MoD reports that a pair of VKS Tu-22M3s carried our a planned flight over the Baltic Sea. Video relased by the MoD shows B/N “32” Red (RF-34038) & “50” Red (RF-34035), each carrying a training version of the Kh-22 (note the band around the body, aft of the nose cone). pic.twitter.com/x1VtvQcnrW
— Guy Plopsky (@GuyPlopsky) September 11, 2023
An upgraded version of the Kh-22, designated Kh-32, entered service in 2016. The new model features a new guidance system and rocket motor, saving weight by reducing the explosive warhead from 2,200 lb to 1,100 lb. While the two variants share largely the same external body, the radome of the original Kh-22 is longer than that fitted to the Kh-32, which appears to match the missile shown in these new images.
Based on the black ring also visible on the missiles, it seems that the missiles are training rounds only. The act of carrying these training rounds, though, is still uncommon and still carries a strong message.
The Kh-22/32 series of missiles have seen extensive use during the war in Ukraine, utilized in both individual hits on specific targets as well as large multi-aircraft strike missions. Earlier in 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed to have downed two Kh-22 missiles during a large scale Russian attack, and soon after also claimed to have shot down a Tu-22M3.
Working in tandem, the Tu-22 and Kh-22/23 missiles form a complete system in a similar way to the U.S. Air Force’s B-52 Stratofortress and the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM). Designed with the intention of use against hostile naval groups, including aircraft carriers, the missile never saw combat use until the war in Ukraine.
With the absence of the types of major naval units that it was designed to destroy, the missile has mostly been employed as a large stand-off cruise missile against land targets. The warheads of both the Kh-22 and Kh-32 variants outmatch the payload of Kh-101 missiles carried by Tu-95 Bears, and ammunition stocks of these weapons are likely much greater than those of the hypersonic Kinzhal missile.
Flying alongside the Russian bombers were two Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter aircraft. These aircraft were armed with air to air missiles, though this is more common as a self defence loadout for the escort role. One of the airframes involved was RF-33734, named and marked as ‘Ekaterinburg’. RF-3374 was previously intercepted by NATO aircraft while escorting a Beriev A-50U Mainstay-B in 2021. A ‘Z’ marking, commonly used by Russian military forces since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, is also visible on the fuselage.
Though certainly unusual, this is not the first time NATO aircraft have intercepted Russian bombers carrying weapons. Royal Air Force Typhoons on the Baltic Air Policing mission, along with Swedish Gripens, intercepted two Backfires and two Flankers.
RAF Typhoons from 140 EAW and Swedish Air Force Gripens scrambled this afternoon, for a third time in 48hrs, to intercept 2x Russian Tu-22M Backfire and 2x Su-30SM Flanker H flying close to @NATO airspace.
140 EAW are deployed on NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission.#WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/IrNplYbBfh
— Royal Air Force (@RoyalAirForce) June 10, 2023
In that instance, although it is difficult to be certain, the shorter radome of the missile being carried by the bomber makes it appear to be a Kh-32 variant.
The sortie came while the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, was visiting Estonia to meet British forces deployed to the nation, as well as attend a conference of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). The JEF includes Estonia, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and the United Kingdom, and exists to complement NATO with flexible, high readiness forces. Its formation was announced at the 2014 NATO Summit held in Wales, UK.
Russian statement
This bomber flight was commented on officially by the Russian Ministry of Defence. Releasing video footage of Tu-22M operations (it is unclear if all footage is from today’s sortie), the attached statement via the state-owned Zvezda news network reveals that the sortie lasted in excess of five hours.
Russia maintains that the flight took place in international airspace and was a planned, routine sortie. They also claim that international rules for the use of the airspace were followed. Certainly, no accusation has been made by NATO of any wrongdoing – instead, the intercepts take place to monitor Russian activity near the borders of NATO countries.
Even during the past week, NATO nations have accused Russian military flights of operating without transponders. This can make it more difficult for air traffic control to fully see and identify the aircraft, which can present a safety issue in congested airspace also used by civilian traffic. In this case, intercepting NATO aircraft, while still monitoring the Russian aircraft and gathering intelligence, can use their own transponders and radio communications to advise air traffic control of the locations of the non-transponding traffic.
The Russian statement says the Tu-22M Backfire bombers were escorted by Su-27 and Su-30SM fighter aircraft, and also referenced that the flight was “accompanied by fighters from foreign countries”.
