Finnish media is reporting that the March 2nd violation of Finland’s airspace near Gotland was perpetuated by 4x Russian aircraft. 2x Su-24 FENCERs escorted by 2x Su-27 FLANKERS. While this story made headlines earlier this month, the Finnish are now claiming the two Su-24s were armed with nuclear weapons, escorted by the Su-27s.
Defense Peter Hultqvist stated that the incident will lead to a “clear diplomatic mark”.
“The action on the part of Russia is to be regarded as unprofessional. Today’s security policy situation means that what happened must be considered very serious “, he further wrote in a text message revealed by Finnish media.
Although the Swedish interceptors, who took these photos, did not get close enough to confirm, apparently the Swedish military has reason to believe they carried nuclear weapons.
The Su-24 has no internal storage for munitions and from this photo, it is plausible that they’re carrying the Rn-28 tactical nuclear bomb with a payload of 1.1 Megaton at the most extreme variant.
The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, twin engines, and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its crew of two. It was the first of the USSR’s aircraft to carry an integrated digital navigation/attack system.
From the photos published, it is probable that the Su-24s are not carrying any nuclear variants of the Kh missile family, due to their large size. However, it is possible the lead Su-24 is carrying the Rn-28 bomb which is carried aft of the mid-section of the fuselage.