He said that in the case of a serious airspace violation, the final decision could be made by the pilot of the Swedish aircraft.
“If orders are not followed, the measure of last resort could be the use of armed force. First—warning measures, then effective fire. In other words, shooting down the aircraft,” Claesson explained.
He added that Swedish pilots have sufficient experience and training to assess the situation and make an informed decision.
Escalation cannot be ruled out, but Claesson does not see it as the most likely scenario.
“I don’t think Russia wants to go to war with NATO. I think they want to politically divide NATO, expose our weaknesses, exploit them, and sow fear among our population,” he said.
Earlier, the country’s Defense Minister, Pål Jonson, also stated that Sweden is ready to use force if necessary and will shoot down Russian fighter jets that violate its airspace.
Russian air provocations
Recently, several airspace violations by Russia against NATO countries have been recorded. In particular, Russian fighter jets were in Estonian skies for 12 minutes.
Two more Russian fighters flew over the Petrobaltic oil and gas platform in the Baltic Sea, within Poland’s territorial waters.
Unknown drones have also entered the airspace of Denmark and other countries.
Lithuania suggested responding to such intrusions by shooting down the aircraft, recalling a 2015 incident in Türkiye when a Russian Su-25 was shot down after crossing Turkish airspace.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland is ready to destroy any hostile objects that enter its airspace. The UK Ministry of Defense has expressed similar intentions.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin denied accusations of Russian fighter jets violating airspace.