The content of the agreement will not become public until after the signing. But the US has concluded similar agreements with Norway and Finland. The Norwegian became public last year.
– The Americans have been working for several years on a more flexible concept for their presence in other parts of the world. They don’t have enough connections so that they can be everywhere at the same time, says Robert Dalsjö, defense policy expert at Total Defense’s research institute, FOI.
– You move the forces somewhat unpredictably to different places, and then you perform for a couple of three weeks somewhere, together with an ally or partner country, and then you move on.
The concept means that US forces can quickly get in place to protect NATO’s northern flank in a critical situation.
Swedish bases
The agreement with Norway gives the US the right to access and use three air bases and one naval base in Norway.
– There, the US can have a small area within the base that is divided like the US’s corner, for example a hangar where you can put your stuff so that it is there when they arrive, says Dalsjö.
Also to the agreement between the USA and Sweden, there will be an appendix where the Swedish military bases to which the USA can gain access are mentioned.
Not permanent
That there will be American personnel on site at the Swedish bases cannot be counted on.
– It is probably more about a storage room or a hangar in a corner of an already existing Swedish base, which has American markings and locks on the doors, says Dalsjö.
The Norwegian agreement states that the United States shall have free access and the right to use the agreed facilities and areas for, among other things, visits, exercises, transit, refueling of aircraft, bunkering of ships, deployment and accommodation of personnel and stockpiling of materiel.
Norway has said no to nuclear weapons being able to be stored in the country. The agreement states that the Norwegian line is not affected by the agreement.