The Steadfast Defender series of exercises involves 90,000 troops and is the first large-scale exercise of NATO’s plans to defend against a Russian attack since the Cold War.
– The exercise scenario assumes that there is an escalation that has resulted in direct combat actions being carried out up in northern Scandinavia, says Carl-Johan Edström.
Thousands of soldiers
In one of the exercises, Russia has attacked Finland, causing NATO to activate Article 5 on collective defence. In connection with this scenario, thousands of American soldiers will transport themselves from Norway, via Sweden, to Finland.
– It is to some extent a sharp moment and it is the first time we get to do it on a slightly larger scale, and for us it is very good to have the opportunity to participate in the collective defense exercise, says Carl-Johan Edström.
Will be noticed
The troop movement is in practice an exercise in what is known as host country support – receiving help from outside – and will be felt in civil society in the relevant parts of northern Sweden. The action is called “Immediate Response” and takes place in March-April.
– Numerically, it is up to the size of a brigade, so it is a number of thousands of men. Then there are a lot of vehicles. The big challenges are to ensure that the actual movement on the ground is safe and that we do not block all the roads. But also to ensure logistics in the form of food, fuel and places where you can stop and take a 24-hour rest for this many people.
Is there a risk that such a large exercise increases the level of conflict in the region?
– No, it does not. In the security policy situation we are in right now with Russia’s actions in Ukraine but also in the immediate area, it is very important that we ensure that we can practice NATO’s regional plans and collective defense, that we carry out these types of operations in deterrence effect.