Swedish Armed Forces


The Swedish Armed Forces are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard.
Sweden's military has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, driven by a rapidly evolving security environment in Europe and its historic decision to join NATO in March 2024.2 This shift has led to substantial increases in defence spending, ambitious personnel expansion plans, and a renewed focus on territorial defence alongside continued international engagement.
The Swedish Armed Forces have a long history, and reached their height in the seventeenth century, during the time of the Swedish Empire, when they participated in a variety of wars; these include the Scanian War, Northern War of 1655–1660, and Great Northern War, among others. Since the nineteenth century, they have also played an important role in the maintenance of Swedish neutrality, especially during the Cold War.
The Swedish Armed Forces consist of 25,600 active personnel, including 9,700 officers, 5,700 enlisted soldiers, and 10,200 civilian employees. Additionally, there are 7,100 reserve officers and 4,700 part-time enlisted soldiers, along with 22,200 soldiers in the Home Guard. As of 2023, 6,300 conscripts undergo military training annually, set to increase to 8,000 by 2025. In wartime, the total personnel is estimated to be 88,000, including all regularly employed personnel, reservists, and conscripts.
Units of the Swedish Armed Forces are currently on or have taken part in several international operations either actively or as military observers, including Afghanistan as part of the Resolute Support Mission and in Kosovo. Moreover, the Swedish Armed Forces contribute as the leading state for a European Union Battlegroup approximately once every three years through the Nordic Battlegroup. Prior to 2024 Sweden had close relations with NATO and NATO members, and participates in training exercises like the Admiral Pitka Recon Challenge, and Exercise Trident Juncture 2018. In 2024, the country formally became a member of NATO. Sweden also has a strong cooperation with its closest allies of the Nordic countries, being part of the Nordic Defence Cooperation, Joint Expeditionary Force, and joint exercises such as Exercise Northern Wind.
Sweden has not participated in an officially declared war since the 1814 Swedish–Norwegian War, although its forces, under the UN flag, have been involved in such conflicts as the Congo Crisis and the military intervention in Libya.

Equipment

The Swedish army has 121 tanks, roughly 1,540 APCs, 450 IFVs, 11,300 utility vehicles, 84 towed and 40 self-propelled mortar and 26 self-propelled artillery guns. It also consists of several different specialized vehicles.
The Swedish Navy has a total of 387 ships, including 4 submarines, 7 corvettes, 9 minesweepers, 13 larger patrol boats and 9 specialised ships with different support duties. The rest is made up of different smaller vessels such as the CB90.
Currently the Swedish Airforce has a total of 210 aircraft, 94 of those being JAS39C/D Gripen, 6 C130H Hercules, 4 SAAB 340, 4 Gulfstream IV as well as 15 UH-60 Blackhawk, 18 NH90 and 20 AgustaWestland helicopters. The rest is made up of different transport and trainer aircraft.

History

The history of the Swedish Armed Forces dates back to the early sixteenth century, when they were founded by the newly crowned monarch Gustav I Vasa. Since then, they have played an important role in the history of Sweden; they have been engaged in numerous conflicts since their founding.
It was in the seventeenth century that the Swedish Armed Forces reached their height, during the time of the Swedish Empire. During this time, they were among the leaders in military innovation, and engaged in many wars; among the Swedish wars of the seventeenth century were the Thirty Years' War, Second Northern War, Scanian War and Great Northern War. The military of the Swedish Empire was one of the most important institutions in the empire.
After a period of enhanced readiness during World War I, the Swedish Armed Forces were subject to severe downsizing during the interwar years. When World War II started, a large rearmament program was launched to once again guard Swedish neutrality, relying on mass male conscription as a source for personnel.
After World War II, Sweden considered building nuclear weapons to deter a Soviet invasion. From 1945 to 1972 the Swedish government ran a clandestine nuclear weapons program under the guise of civilian defence research at the Swedish National Defence Research Institute. By the late 1950s, the work had reached the point where underground testing was feasible. However, at that time the Riksdag prohibited research and development of nuclear weapons, pledging that research should be done only for the purpose of defence against nuclear attack. The option to continue development was abandoned in 1966, and Sweden subsequently signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968; the program was finally concluded in 1972.
During the Cold War, the wartime mass conscription system was kept in place to act as a deterrent to the Soviet Union, seen as the greatest military threat to Sweden. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union meant that the perceived threat lessened and the armed forces were downsized, with conscription taking in fewer and fewer recruits until it was deactivated in 2010. This small size is often considered one of the major strategic weaknesses of the Swedish Armed Forces.
The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 and the events in Ukraine in 2014 gradually shifted Swedish debate back in favour of increased defence spending, as concerns grew over Russia's military buildup and intentions. Conscription was reintroduced in 2017 to supplement the insufficient number of volunteers signing up for service. Unlike in the past, the current conscription system applies to both men and women.
Following the United Kingdom leaving the European Union in 2020, the EU's mutual defence clause ceased to apply to the UK. In 2022, Sweden and the UK signed a mutual security deal, re-pledging support if either state is attacked.
On 29 June 2022, Finland and Sweden were formally invited to become members of NATO, and joined respectively in 2023 and 2024.

Doctrine

The Swedish Armed Forces have four main tasks:
  1. To assert the territorial integrity of Sweden.
  2. To defend the country if attacked by a foreign nation.
  3. To support the civil community in case of disasters.
  4. To deploy forces to international peace support operations.
Sweden aims to have the option of remaining neutral in case of proximate war. However, Sweden cooperates militarily with a number of foreign countries. As a member state of the European Union, Sweden is acting as the leading state for EU Battlegroups and also has a close cooperation, including joint exercises, with NATO through its membership in Partnership for Peace and Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. In 2008 a partnership was initiated between the Nordic countries to, among other things, increase the capability of joint action, and this led to the creation of the Nordic Defence Cooperation. As a response to the expanded military cooperation the defence proposition of 2009 stated that Sweden will not remain passive if a Nordic country or a member state of the European Union were attacked.
Recent political decisions have strongly emphasized the capability to participate in international operations, to the point where this has become the main short-term goal of training and equipment acquisition. However, after the 2008 South Ossetia war territorial defence was once again emphasized. Until then most units could not be mobilized within one year. In 2009 the Minister for Defence stated that in the future all of the armed forces must be capable of fully mobilizing within one week.
In 2013, after Russian air exercises in close proximity to the Swedish border were widely reported, only six percent of Swedes expressed confidence in the ability of the nation to defend itself.

Organisation

The Chief of Defence, formerly the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, is a four-star general or flag officer who is the agency head of the Swedish Armed Forces and the highest ranking professional officer on active duty. The Chief of Defence reports, normally through the Minister of Defence, to the Government of Sweden, which in turn answers to the Riksdag. The current chief of defence is General Michael Claesson.
Before the enactment of the 1974 Instrument of Government, the King of Sweden was the de jure commander in chief. Since then, King Carl XVI Gustaf is still considered to hold the honorary ranks of general and admiral à la suite, but the role is entirely ceremonial.
The Swedish Armed Forces consists of three service branches; the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, with addition of the military reserve force Home Guard. Since 1994, the first three service branches are organized within a single unified government agency, headed by the Chief of Defence, while the Home Guard reports directly to the chief. However, the services maintain their separate identities through the use of different uniforms, ranks, and other service specific traditions.

Armed Forces Headquarters

The Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters is the highest level of command in the Swedish Armed Forces. It is led by the Chief of Defence with a civilian director-general as his deputy, with functional directorates having different responsibilities. Overall, the Armed Forces Headquarters has about 2,100 employees, including civilian personnel.

Schools

Some of the schools listed below answer to other units, listed under the various branches of the Armed Forces:
  • Artillery Combat School located in Boden
  • Armed Forces Technical School located in Halmstad
  • Air Warfare Centre located in Uppsala
  • Armed Forces Interpreter/Interrogator School located in Uppsala
  • Swedish Defence University located in Stockholm
  • Field Work School located in Eksjö
  • Air Force Air Officer School located in Uppsala
  • Swedish Parachute Ranger School located in Karlsborg
  • Flight School located in Linköping/Malmen
  • Helicopter Combat School located in Linköping/Malmen
  • National Home Guard Combat School located in Södertälje
  • Command School located in Enköping
  • Anti-Aircraft Combat School located in Halmstad
  • Military Academy Halmstad located in Halmstad
  • Military Academy Karlberg located in Stockholm/Karlberg
  • Land Warfare Centre located in Skövde also a detachment in Kvarn
  • Swedish Naval Warfare Centre located in Karlskrona and Stockholm/Berga