Yle: Finnish fighter jets may soon be able to fly in Estonian airspace
Finland plans to change the rules governing its air force so that the country's fighter jets can also fly in Estonian airspace if necessary, according to a report by Finnish public broadcaster Yle.
The recent violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets and the events that followed have sparked a debate within NATO about whether the alliance is capable of responding in cases when its airspace is threatened.
Finland also plans to change the current restrictions on its air force.
"I know that Finland has started a process that would allow Finnish fighter jets to use Estonian airspace. In Finland, the rule has been that Finns do not fly in our airspace – that is not our rule," Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said at a meeting of NATO defense ministers, according to a Yle report.
Pevkur said he is pleased Finland is preparing to make the proposed changes and told Yle that he has already discussed the matter with his Finnish counterpart Antti Häkkänen.
"Estonian airspace does not belong only to Estonia but also to NATO," Pevkur said, adding that after Finland joined NATO, the region forms a single airspace.
NATO members impose different restrictions on their fighter jets to determine what they are allowed to do when patrolling NATO airspace. However, these restrictions can make monitoring NATO airspace ineffective, complicated and slow, Yle's article noted.
"We still have restrictions that make us less effective," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said earlier this week.
Finnish fighter jets refrained from entering Estonian airspace
On the morning of September 19, 2025, three Russian MIG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace without permission in the Vaindloo Island area and remained in Estonian airspace for approximately 12 minutes.
According to a map published by the Estonian Ministry of Defense, the aircraft flew through Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland towards Kaliningrad.
According to Yle, the Russian MiG fighters were under NATO radar surveillance as soon as they took off from Petrozavodsk, enabling Finnish Hornets to intercept them. However, the Finnish fighters did not enter Estonian airspace.
In Estonia, the aircraft were intercepted by Italian F-35 fighters, which were patrolling the country's airspace.
In the end, the Russian fighters were escorted over the Baltic Sea by Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters.
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Editor: Valner Väino, Michael Cole
Source: Yle
