Swedish Gripen fighter pilots practise the art of landing on civilian highways

A road became a runway for some of the Swedish Air Force's Gripen fighter jets during an exercise near Gothenburg.

Nato has released footage of the Gripens landing on a road.

Swedish fighter pilots were practising the art of landing on civilian highways – giving them extra flexibility for any potential crisis.

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The Gripen is Sweden's premier multirole fighter, with a reinforced landing gear that props the plane high enough above the asphalt to prevent debris from getting sucked down the jet intake.

In the case that an airbase, airport or auxiliary landing strip is damaged or otherwise unavailable, JAS 39 Gripen fighters can touch down on roads that have been prepared to accommodate such a landing.

Once on the ground, the Gripens use a mobile forward arming and refuelling point (FARP), being able to take off again in just a few minutes.

In March, Sweden became the 32nd country to become part of Nato after completing its accession to the alliance.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it was a "historic day", with Sweden now set to "take its rightful place at Nato's table, with an equal say in shaping Nato policies and decisions".

Only days after they became a member of the alliance, the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen jets launched under Nato arrangements to safeguard the skies over the Baltic Sea flying with German and Belgian quick reaction alert aircraft.

Nato said in a press release: "It is an impressive demonstration of the deep integration Swedish Air Force have achieved with Nato Air Policing forces and the close and smooth interoperability in support of safeguarding Nato over the Baltic Sea."