The land, naval and air military assets that Sweden incorporates into NATO

@DefAviation ES 3·08·2024 · 22:54 0

This Thursday, March 7, 2024, NATO has finally incorporated Sweden, which thus becomes the 32nd country that makes up the Alliance.

Dispersed operations, the advantage of the Swedish Gripen against an attack on its bases
Sweden and the USA are preparing to defend a strategic island that is coveted by Russia

Yesterday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: "This is a historic day. Sweden will now take its rightful place at NATO’s table, with an equal say in shaping NATO policies and decisions. After over 200 years of non-alignment Sweden now enjoys the protection granted under Article 5, the ultimate guarantee of Allies’ freedom and security. Sweden brings with it capable armed forces and a first-class defence industry. Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer and the whole Alliance more secure. Today’s accession demonstrates that NATO’s door remains open and that every nation has the right to choose its own path."

The accession of Sweden, like that of Finland, was caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On February 25, 2022, the day after the start of the invasion, Putin threatened Finland and Sweden with "serious military consequences" if they joined NATO. A few days later, demonstrating that this threat was serious, Russian planes made an incursion into Swedish airspace carrying nuclear weapons. These threats had the exact opposite effect of what the Russian dictator was looking for: Finland and Sweden quickly understood the need to seek protection in the Atlantic Alliance.

Sweden is a parliamentary Monarchy that has been part of the European Union since 1995, although it continues to use its own currency, the Swedish crown. According to Swedish Central Statistics Office, today this country has 10,550,054 inhabitants. At the end of 2022 there would be 865,256 foreigners residing in the country. The largest group of foreigners are Poles, with 56,165 residents, followed by Syrians (53,698), Afghans (45,053), Finns (40,227) and Hindus (36,342).

Like Finland,Sweden is a country that has a great defense culture. For years it has developed a very good military industry of its own, with the best-known exponents being Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB). ), with regard to aviation, Saab Kockums (ships) and two companies that today are part of BAE Systems: Hägglunds (creator of the excellent vehicle CV90 infantry combat system) and Bofors (specialized in artillery) with regard to ground systems.

In 2010 Sweden abandoned compulsory military service, but regained it in 2017, due to a lack of recruits. Currently, both men and women are called to perform this obligatory service. According to Globalfirepower.com, Sweden is ranked 29th in the military ranking world (Spain is in 20th). The Swedish Armed Forces are divided into four branches of service: Army (Armen), Navy (Marinen), Air Force (Flygvapnet) and Home Guard (Hemvärnet). The active personnel of the Armed Forces is 25,600 people (including 10,200 civilians), with 76% men and 24% women, and 22,200 members of the National Guard. The country has about 5.7 million men and women of military age (18 to 47 years old).

Next we are going to see the troops and materials of the Swedish Armed Forces according to the data published by "The Military Balance 2023" of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the official data of the Armed Forces.

Army

It has an active staff of 6,850 men and women. It has the following materials:

• 120 Stridsvagn 122 tanks (local name of the Leopard 2A5).
• 369 Strf 9040 infantry fighting vehicles (CV9040).
• 42 Epbv 90 observation vehicles (based on the CV90).
• 239 armored personnel carriers Pansarbandvagn 302, with tracks.
• 150 BvS 10 MkII armored personnel carriers (with rubber tracks or amphibious capability).
• 315 ACMAT Bastion armored transports on wheels.
• 34 Patgb 180 wheeled armored transports (local designation of the Finnish Sisu XA-180).
• 20 Patgb 202 wheeled armored transports (local designation of the Finnish Sisu XA-202).
• 148 Patgb 203 wheeled armored transports (local designation of the Finnish Sisu XA-203).
• 113 Patgb 360 wheeled armored transports (local designation of the Finnish Patria AMV).
• 360 MRAP RG-32M Scout.
• 6 Ingbv 120 recovery vehicles (local designation of Pionierpanzer 3 "Kodiak", based on the Leopard 2).
• 14 Bgbv 120 engineer vehicles (local designation of the Bergepanzer Büffel, based on the Leopard 2).
• 26 BgBv90 rescue and recovery vehicles (based on the CV90).
• 3 Brobandvagn 120 bridge launching vehicles.
• 33 Aardvark Mk2 engineer vehicles.
• 35 Archer 155mm self-propelled howitzers.
• 201 M/86 81 mm mortars.
• 81 M/41D 120mm mortars.
• 40 Gkpbv 90 self-propelled mortars (based on the CV90).
• 6 M903 Patriot PAC-3 MSE long-range surface-to-air missile launchers.
• An unknown number of medium-range MIM-23B Hawk surface-to-air missile launchers.
• 8 IRIS-T SLS short-range surface-to-air missile launchers.
• 30 Lvkv 90 anti-aircraft vehicles (based on the CV90) with 40 mm guns.

Navy

It has an active staff of 2,350 men and women. It is a brown water navy, that is, focused on the defense of the coastline. It has the following naval units:

• 1 ocean patrol vessel, the HSwMS Carlskrona, 105.7 meters in length. She has been in service since 1982. She is the largest ship in the Swedish Navy.
• 3 Gotland class submarines, with a length of 60.4 meters. All three entered service in 1996.
• 2 Södermanland class submarines, with a length of 60.5 meters. Both entered service in 1989.
• 5 Visby class corvettes, with a length of 72.7 meters. They are very modern ships. They entered service between 2002 and 2015.
• 2 Göteborg class corvettes, with a length of 57 meters. They entered service in 1990 and 1993.
• 5 Koster class minesweepers, with a length of 47.5 meters. They entered service between 1986 and 1992. Two other vessels of this type are retired and stored.
• 2 minesweepers of the Styrsöclass, with a length of 36 meters. They were launched between 1996 and 1997. Today they are used for auxiliary tasks.
• 2 Stockholm class patrol boats, with a length of 50 meters. They originally entered service as corvettes in 1986.
• 11 Tapper class patrol boats, 23 meters in length. They entered service between 1993 and 1999.
• 165 Stridsbåt 90 fast combat boats, 15.9 meters long. Very good vessels for coastal surveillance and with the capacity to carry out assault and infiltration missions.
• 2 Ledningsbåt 2000 combat boats, for amphibious operations.
• 100 Marine Alutech Watercat M8 landing craft, known as G class, 8.2 meters in length.
• 8 rapid supply barges of the Trossbåt class, 21 meters in length.
• 3 Griffon Hoverwork 2000TD hovercrafts, 11.7 meters in length.
• 2 intelligence ships, the HSwMS Orion (from 1984) and the HSwMS Artemis (active since 2023).
• 1 command ship, the HSwMS Trossö, 71.6 meters long, launched in 1984 and active in the Swedish Navy since 1998.
• 1 submarine rescue ship, the HSwMS Belos.
• 1 underwater research vessel, the HSwMS Furusund.
• 2 sailing training ships, the HSwMS Gladan (S01) and the HSwMS Falken (S02).

Fuerza Aérea

Cuenta con un personal activo de 2.700 hombres y mujeres. Dispone de las siguientes aeronaves:

• 96 cazas Saab JAS-39C/D Gripen.
• 3 cazas Saab JAS-39E Gripen.
• 2 aviones de inteligencia electrónica (ELINT) Gulfstream IV SRA-4.
• 3 aviones de alerta temprana y control aerotransportado Saab 340 AEW&C (1 S-100B y 2 S-100D).
• 5 aviones de transporte táctico C-130H Hercules.
• Un avión cisterna KC-130H Hercules.
• 2 aviones de transporte ligero Saab 340.
• 1 avión de transporte ejecutivo Gulfstream 550.
• 67 aviones de entrenamiento Saab 105.
• 8 vehículos aéreos no tripulados AUV 3 Örnen (designación local del AAI RQ-7 Shadow).
• 15 helicópteros de transporte Hkp-16 (designación local del UH-60M Black Hawk).
• 18 helicópteros de transporte Hkp-14 (designación local del NH-90 TTH).
• 12 helicópteros de transporte ligero Hkp-15A (designación local del AgustaWestland AW109).
• 8 helicópteros de transporte ligero Hkp-15B (designación local del AgustaWestland AW109M).