| Date | 2 Mar 2022 |
| Tracker | European Airspace Violations |
| Type | Incursion |
| Location |
Gotland, Sweden
57.47, 18.49 (approximate) |
Four Russian Su-24 and Su-27 combat aircraft crossed into Swedish airspace over the Baltic Sea east of Gotland. The Swedish Air Force intercepted the formation with a JAS 39 Gripen and photographed it, publishing the images afterwards. Sweden was not yet a NATO member at the time, and Gotland — demilitarised for years before being re-garrisoned in 2016 — sits astride the approaches to the Baltic states, which is what gives incursions over the island their weight.
| Date | Type | Incident |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Feb 2022 | Interception | Ukrainian Su-27 escorted to Romanian air base after losing contact |
| 10 Mar 2022 | Incursion | Tu-141 drone crashes in Zagreb after crossing three borders |
| 14 Mar 2022 | Incursion | Russian Orlan-10 drone crashes in Bistrița-Năsăud County |
| 29 Apr 2022 | Incursion | Russian An-30 survey aircraft violates Swedish airspace off Blekinge |
GlobalMilitary.net's 2026 inventory snapshot shows nine NATO members — Iceland, Luxembourg, the three Baltic states, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia and Slovenia — hold no fixed-wing fighters, attack aircraft or bombers and depend on Allied air policing.
GlobalMilitary.net's incident log counts 45 established violations of European airspace between January 1 and August 16, 2026, against 31 for the whole of 2025 - and almost all of the growth sits in incidents that ended with a shootdown or an explosion on the ground.
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