The Swedes are coming! | The American Legion
Sweden recently hosted – and made a major contribution to – the Exercise Arctic Challenge. One of the largest air force exercises in Europe, Arctic Challenge 21 combined battle planes from the USA, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for complete range of air defense, close air support, air defense damping and air-to-ground strike training – all in the cold weather environment in Sweden’s Arctic sky.
This is just the latest example of Sweden’s growing contribution to international security and deepened partnerships with the United States and the rest of NATO. With Russia on the rise, Sweden’s emergence as a strong security partner is a welcome development.
Confronting Moscow
Make no mistake: Sweden – officially and stubbornly neutral for two centuries – is heading towards the US-NATO security umbrella due to Russia’s actions. With reference to Russia’s attacks on neighboring countries and its rapid military build-up, the Swedish government has reintroduced military conscription, approved a huge increase in defense spending by 40 percent (Sweden’s largest increase in defense spending in 70 years), revealed a security doctrine called “Total Defense” and sent troops to Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea. (Gotland would be the key to all NATO efforts aimed at strengthening or retaking Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania – all NATO members.)
The extra defense spending will increase the size of Sweden’s military by 67 percent, reorganize the army into mechanized brigades, add new air defense systems to Swedish warships, increase the size of the fleet and deploy a new next-generation fighter bomber.
Defense Minister Peter Hultquist states bluntly that the strengthened defense budget is needed “due to the new security situation with Russian aggression against Georgia, the annexation of Crimea, the conflict in Ukraine, activities in Belarus, upgrading of Russian military capability, very complex exercises, activity in the Arctic and in the Baltic Sea region. “
Sweden’s total defense security doctrine is a holistic view that calls on all citizens, companies and districts to be ready to resist invasion, with or without guidance from the central government. The Total defense The program includes a “building of civil defense”, improved cyber security, increased investment in the military and authorization for every Swedish citizen – civilian or uniformed – to play a role in defending their nation. As part of the Total Defense Initiative, Sweden has disseminated information to every household that informs citizens about what to do in the event of a military attack. The brochure is ominously called “If the crisis or war comes.” As UPI reports, the document provides information on securing food and water and where the bomb shelters are located. “The world around us has changed,” the document concludes, citing “threats to our security and independence.”
The goal of the effort, which Wall Street Journal explains, is “equipping citizens and businesses to cope with crises.”
The doctrine of total defense is entirely focused on the type of hybrid warfare in the “gray zone” that Russia has carried out so effectively in Ukraine – warfare that uses disinformation, psychological operations, cyber attacks, troops cut by insignia, groups in the fifth column and the like to paralyze an enemy. , confuse political-military authorities and secure key targets before a defense can be set up. The Swedish government, concerned about Moscow’s methods, has distributed material to all citizens and made it clear that “If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up … All information that the resistance will cease is false.”
A helping hand
To its credit, Sweden does not just sneak behind its icy border areas. Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the Swedish military has expanded cooperation with the United States and other NATO members.
In 2016, a package of B-2s and B-52s simultaneously operated direct flights from the continental United States to the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the North Pole, Alaska and the Pacific. Swedish fighter aircraft participated in the exercise, called “Polar Roar”. According to the air force, Polar Roar demonstrates “the ability of the US bomber force to provide a flexible and vigilant long-term global attack capability and provides unique and valuable opportunities to train and integrate with allies and partners” – like Sweden.
In 2017, more than 20,000 Swedish and American troops participated in Exercise Aurora, the largest military exercise in Sweden in decades. American commanders know that Sweden’s Ranger Battalions – which specialize in cold weather operations – have much to offer American personnel in terms of understanding operations in the Arctic, where Russia makes provocative military moves.
In 2018, Marines deployed to Sweden for joint exercises aimed at honing the ability of both nations to carry out amphibious raids from Baltic Sea waters – a skill that could prove vital in the event of a Russian invasion of Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania.
In 2019, hundreds of troops from Sweden, Canada, France, Norway and Finland participated exercises in northern Canada focused on setting up logistics nodes and cutting out landing strips from the Arctic ice.
In early 2020, B-1B bombplan went with Swedish fighter bombers in maneuvers over Sweden, which marks the first time B-1B has ever flown in Swedish airspace. The American bombers “also conducted close air support training with Swedish joint terminal attack controllers”, as DefenseNews reports.
At the end of 2020, Swedish and American warships, Swedish JAS-39 fighter bombers and American F-15E fighter bombers carried out “simulated surface battles” and “simulated long-range attacks on deep land” in and above the Baltic Sea, as Naval News reports. (It is worth adding that the US Navy has been doing this for several years tested This upswing of activity was ended by the previously mentioned Arctic Challenge maneuvers this year, which were centered around bases in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
These exercises and training operations are really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Sweden’s contribution to transatlantic security.
The Swedish military works closely with neighboring countries Norway and Denmark on security in and around the Arctic. In addition, Sweden has been a key military contributors to NATO’s combat missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya, as well as NATO’s training missions in Iraq. In fact, Sweden deployed more troops to the NATO-led counter-insurgency and peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan than Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal (all founding members of the NATO alliance).
If or when?
With that summary, it would be reasonable to conclude that Sweden is a member of the NATO Alliance, and an active one. But it is not – at least not yet. Sweden is officially non-aligned. However, Sweden is one of only six non-NATO countries considered “enhanced partner opportunities.” It is treated as a de facto member of NATO, which is underlined by its cooperation with and contribution to NATO’s mission. And all indications are that Sweden may soon become NATO’s 31st member. In December 2020, a considerable majority in the Swedish parliament voted for the so-called “NATO alternative” – a kind of first step towards NATO membership – and called on the government to “express readiness to join NATO as a possible security policy alternative”, according to an AP report. National surveys reveal a dramatic change in public opinion about NATO membership: In the 1990s, only 15 percent of Swedes supported joining the alliance; today, support for NATO membership and opposition to NATO membership is steady divided.
For a country that was steadfast, even defiant, neutral throughout the Cold War and into the post-Cold War era, this is a fantastic turnaround – and a striking indication of how seriously Swedes perceive the threat from Putin’s Russia.
If – or perhaps rather, when – Sweden joins NATO, the alliance will have a strong and committed ally that contributes to security rather than going free on others. America will have a loyal friend who is ready and willing to export stability far beyond Europe. And Putin and his generals will have another headache.