Here is Sweden’s first NATO deployment

As a NATO member, Sweden must participate in NATO’s deterrence.

Already in the first half of the year, Sweden wants to contribute both with combat aircraft and ships – and at the turn of the year, a Swedish force will be sent to Latvia.

Here are the operations that Sweden will participate in initially.

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Gripen plane in NATO air surveillance

Sweden’s first NATO effort will be that the Jas Gripenplan, which today forms part of Swedish incident preparedness, will be connected to NATO’s air surveillance in the Baltic Sea area.

– We will seamlessly go in there and be part of it all at once, says Carl-Johan Edström, lieutenant general and the Armed Forces’ chief operating officer.

– We can leave our resources at NATO’s disposal for minutes, hours or days.

The purpose is above all border surveillance, but also to detect activities in the immediate area, for example military exercises, aircraft or ships.

Sweden will also likely participate with a number of Gripen planes in NATO’s various air defense operations, up over Iceland and down the entire eastern flank.

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A Swedish force to Latvia

The direction is for Sweden to send a reduced battalion of between 450–550 Swedish soldiers, who will be under Canadian command.

The battalion, whose core consists of soldiers from Scanian P 7, will be in place at the turn of the year and will take turns with Denmark to rotate in for six months at a time.

– It is a heavy mechanized battalion. It could be a mix of tanks, combat vehicles, artillery systems and slightly more mobile infantry units, says Edström, who emphasizes that the defense has not yet decided on all the resources.

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Ships for NATO naval forces

NATO has two standing naval forces for mine clearance at sea. Sweden’s contribution will primarily be to the force that is standing in the Baltic Sea area, according to Edström.

– Here we have specific abilities that are well designed to be part of it, he says.

The hope is to enter already in the first half of the year with one of the Swedish Navy’s minesweeping ships.

NATO also has two standing naval forces consisting of surface combatant ships, which move throughout the alliance’s area of ​​operations. Here, Sweden could participate with corvettes, and most likely it will be in the immediate area.

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Directly into NATO’s missile defense

From day one, Sweden will be part of NATO’s air defense and missile defense. It will eventually be linked with NATO’s system.

Anything that can repel enemy air attacks is counted as anti-aircraft. It can be a weapon system both on the ground, like the Patriot, and in the air, like fighter jets. The term also includes sensor systems tasked with monitoring the immediate area and detecting hostile activity.