— there was no flight suit handy that fit him.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in the right place at the right time on Thursday to have his picture taken in the cockpit of a CF-18 Hornet that landed in the Northwest Territories after scrambling to intercept a long-range Russian military patrol.

Four Canadian Forces fighter jets, their wings laden with heat-seeking missiles, were sent from their base in Cold Lake, Alta. to the edge of Canadian airspace to intercept the planes. They landed in Inuvik, where Harper happened to be as he concluded a three-day visit to the North.

The prime minister’s focus during the trip was Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.

As Harper posed for a photograph with members of the CF-18 crew, giving the thumbs-up sign,he left it to Defence Minister Peter MacKay to explain what was going on.