STOCKHOLM, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Sweden's military will participate in the surveillance and protection of Finland's territory with Gripen fighter jets and corvette warship, at least until the end of 2026, Finland's defence forces said on Friday.
"The Swedish equipment strengthens air surveillance in particular, releasing the Finnish Defence Forces' own resources for repelling violations and incidents, if need be," Finland's military said in a statement.
The neighbouring countries, NATO's two newest members, already have a close bilateral defence cooperation. Finland has a 1,340-kilometre (833-mile) long eastern border with Russia.
"Sweden has responded to a request from Finland to strengthen its air defence due to the deteriorating security situation," Sweden's Defence Minister Pal Jonson told Reuters, adding that the Swedish armed forces may under the agreement, if necessary, help Finland repel violations of Finnish territory.
Besides fighter jets and vessels with drone combat capabilities, Sweden may also contribute ground-based anti-drone systems, he said.
Military drones straying into the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are stoking concerns that the war in Ukraine is spilling over into NATO's northern borders with Russia. As Ukraine steps up attacks on Russian Baltic Sea oil shipping ports, some of its drones have missed their targets and led to security warnings in neighbouring countries.
Sweden's SAAB, the maker of Gripen, said separately on Friday it had won a 1.2 billion crown ($126 million) order from Finland for its RBS 70 NG portable air defence missile system.
($1 = 9.5219 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Louise Rasmussen and Terje Solsvik)
