Sweden’s security situation is described as the most serious since World War II.
And it will get even worse, the Swedish Armed Forces judge.
The government is criticized because the authorities that will carry out the record-breaking rearmament are not given greater decision-making mandates.
“There is an extraordinary situation with danger in delay”, writes the Swedish Armed Forces in a report.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sweden is in the most serious security situation since World War II. That description of reality has been repeated many times in recent years.
But the situation will worsen further, the Swedish Armed Forces assesses in their collective priorities for the continued design of the military defence, which were submitted to the government on Monday.
The Russian conventional military threat is estimated to increase until 2030, while Russia is expected to increase its ability to influence Sweden through hybrid warfare.
The most important thing to be able to meet the military threat is that Sweden and NATO increase the ability to carry out so-called multi-domain operations, where military units in land, sea, air, space and cyber work together, according to the Swedish Armed Forces.
Want to be able to hit deep
Specifically, the authority wants to prioritize the following, among other things:
Drones and anti-drone systems. Technology development in the field is lightning fast and Sweden must constantly sharpen its capabilities over time.
Long-range combat. It is partly about being able to fight targets beyond the range of the artillery, and partly about the ability to fight targets at strategic depth, up to 200 miles away, in order to knock out the enemy’s most important infrastructure.
Control over the Baltic Sea over time. The situation on the sea and in the air is described as crucial for mobility, reinforcements and supplies.
An improved and sustained situational picture through sensors on the ground, in the air and in space.
A stronger air and robotic defense. It is needed both to protect Sweden’s own units and to strengthen the resilience of NATO’s northern flank, according to the Swedish Armed Forces.
Criticism of the government: “Suboptimization”
The armed forces are critical of the management of military rearmament, which now needs to happen faster than ever in modern times. “There is an extraordinary situation with danger in delay”, they write.
To succeed in this, the actors who will carry out the rearmament would need more freedom, greater decision-making mandates, and increased flexibility between different budget years and between different parts of the rearmament. Instead, it has gone in the opposite direction, according to the Swedish Armed Forces, which notes that “the development involves sub-optimization”.
