Sweden is 'entering a new era' in joining NATO says Granit
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Sweden and Finland have responded to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine by pledging to join NATO. The war in Ukraine has drastically changed the geopolitical landscape of the region, as for over a century, Sweden has not joined a war and pursued an “alliance free policy”. However, experts note that the country is “armed and ready to fight” any country that threatens its national security.
According to Stefan Geisenheyner, Stockholm has enforced an integrated defence philosophy known as “total defence”.
Writing in the Airforce magazine, he said: “This system makes effective use of every resource, without disturbing the economic growth and prosperity of the nation.
“Total defence is designed to meet effectively any possible form of attack, atomic or conventional, invasion by sea or by land, and offensive moves by aircraft or guided missiles.”
Despite being non-aligned and having never fought a war in 150 years, Sweden is a major manufacturer of weapons and military equipment.
The country boasts of major defence manufacturers like Saab, Bofors and BAE systems.
BAE in particular has most recently been awarded contracts worth £2billion by the Ministry of Defence to replace the UK’s current Vanguard-class submarines with four new Dreadnoughts.
According to Mr Geisenheyner, the Swedish Air force in particular uses 90 percent of domestic products, and boasts of “some of the finest, most advanced aircraft and missiles in the world.”
He said that while the official number of fighter jets that the Air Force possesses is a secret: “An educated guess would place it at approximately 1,000 to 1,200, thus making the Swedish Air Force one of the strongest on earth.”
The Swedish Air Force uses the Saab JAS 39 Gripen a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft that is one of the best non stealth aircrafts in the world.
The jet also boasts being the first fighter in the world to carry the deadly Meteor air-to-air missile, which is a beyond visual range (BVR) weapon that can track and kill targets at a range of up to 80 miles.
The Gripen C variant of the aircraft can carry four Meteor missiles, while the Gripen E boasts of seven.
According to Saab’s website, the “Gripen E has 10 hard-points; offers the best in class weapons and pods from around the world; and has an unrivalled ease of store integration.
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“Gripen E can conduct air-to-air, air-to-surface and reconnaissance missions.
“Air supremacy is achieved with the carriage of up to seven Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missiles and two Within Visual Range IRIS-T missiles.
“Weapons like these, combined with the ability to use offensive and defensive means simultaneously, enables Gripen E to detect, engage and suppress or destroy targets effectively.”
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