Italian F-35s Encounter Russian Su-27 and Su-24M Fighters Over Eastern Europe

Two Italian Air Force F-35A fighters were scrambled from Amari Air Base in Estonia on August 13 under NATO’s Air Policing mission to intercept Russian fighters operating in the region, marking the first time Italian stealth fighters have been launched on an interception mission in the Baltic region. This occurred just a day after the Hungarian Air Force deployed Gripen C/D fighters for a similar operation. The Russian fighters in question were some of the oldest in the Russian Aerospace Forces’ inventory, including a Su-27 Flanker air superiority fighter, and a Su-24M strike fighter. Both Russian fighter classes have rapidly been phased out of service over the past 15 years, and are expected to see their last units retired in the early 2030s. Both fighters in question were operating without flight plans or transponders, possibly to probe NATO defences in the region. The incident occurred at a time of high tensions between Russia and NATO members across Europe, as European states have provided tremendous material and manpower support to the ongoing Ukrainain war effort.

The F-35 has consistently won tenders across Europe, constraining locally built fighters and rival American fighters such as the F-18E/F to much smaller shares of the continent’s marketsfor fighter aircraft. This has been a game changer for the balance of power between Russia and NATO, as the F-35 provides significantly superior capabilities to any other NATO or Russian fighter class. As the most advanced fifth generation fighter class fielded outside China, the F-35 is considered to provide a distinct advantage over Russian ‘4+ generation’ fighters such as the Su-35 and Su-30SM that form the backbone of its fleet, with discrepancies in stealth capabilities and in the sophistication of their sensors and avionics being significant.

Although the Soviet Union was previously expected to field a top tier fifth generation fighter from around the year 2000, the state’s disintegration and the economic and industrial decline that followed delayed this by over two decades, with the Russian Aerospace Forces fielding only a single regiment’s worth of Su-57 fifth generation fighters today. The Russian Armed Forces accordingly rely much more heavily on a network of ground-based air defence systems to asymmetrically counter NATO air power. Although the role of the Su-27 in the Russian fleet has diminished significantly, enhanced derivatives of the aircraft including the Su-30, Su-34 and Su-35 equip the large majority of fighter units. Significant delays to the development of the Su-57 have forced the Russian Defence Ministry to significantly expand orders for the Su-30 and Su-35 beyond prior expectations.