Two Tu-22M3 bombers, as well as Su-30SM fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces accompanying them, made a five-hour flight over neutral waters as part of the Ocean-2024 exercises. Over the Baltic Sea, foreign aircraft organized an "escort" for them. Presumably, these were Finnish pilots, writes Bulgarian Military.
Although the specific countries that scrambled fighters were not named, OSINT (Open source intelligence) analysts believe that Finland may be one of them. Norwegian military expert Tord Are Iversen suggested that Finland scrambled its F/A-18C aircraft (McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, "hornet").
As Bulgarian Military writes, this appears to be the first time that Finnish F/A-18C aircraft have escorted Russian bombers. Prior to this, they did not actively monitor the maneuvers of the Tu-22M3.
According to media reports, in August 2022, Finnish Air Force F/A-18s intercepted two MiG-31 fighters that entered the country's airspace. The West drew attention to this incident, given the growing tensions between Russia and NATO countries.