The two Tu-22M3 planes took off from the Olenya Air Base on the Kola Peninsula in the morning of January 22 and flew south along Russia’s border with Finland before continuing out into international airspace over the Baltic Sea.

Along part of the route, the bombers from the north were supported by Su-35S and Su-30SM fighters, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry. While the ministry said the bombers “carried out a scheduled flight,” the mission came with a clear signal that Moscow is dissatisfied with NATO’s increased presence in the region.

This is the second time in less than two months that Russian Tu-22M3 bombers have flown out over the Baltic Sea.

The planes can carry Kh-22 and Kh-32 supersonic air-launched cruise missiles with a range of 600–1000 kilometres. These are missiles frequently used in Russia’s bombing of civilian energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

Missile under the wing

A video released by the Defence Ministry clearly shows that one of the two bombers was armed with a cruise missile under the wing when the plane took off from the Olenya Air Base.

It is not known if the missile shown in the video was an unarmed training missile or if it was a real weapon.

The Barents Observer has earlier this week reported about French fighter jets being deployed to Uppsala in Sweden and about how Paris and Stockholm are teaming up to strengthen military partnership for the northern regions.

The two Tu-22M3 bombers flew south of the Swedish island of Gotland before returning to take the same route back over the Gulf of Finland and into Russian airspace again.

NATO scrambled two Eurofighter Typhoons from the 22nd Air Base in Malbork, Poland. The fighter jets escorted the Russian bombers between Sweden and the Baltic States.

According to the open-source community AviVector, the two bombers from the Kola Peninsula received mid-air refueling from an Il-78M tanker before they flew out over the Baltic Sea.