On Monday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan finally relented and greenlighted Sweden’s membership application to NATO.
Sweden is now set to become the newest member of the transatlantic alliance after Finland, which joined in April.
With it, Sweden brings potent military capabilities to increase NATO’s deterrence.
The Swedish Armed Forces
The Swedish military is comprised of four branches (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Home Guard) with approximately 56,000 troops (24,000 active duty, 32,000 reserves).
When it comes to the Swedish Army, Stockholm has a considerable force that is fully mechanized. The Swedish Army fields about 120 Leopard 2A5 main battle tanks, 1,300 armored personnel carriers, close to 800 infantry fighting vehicles (including CV-90s that are fighting in Ukraine right now), and more than 11,000 utility vehicles. In addition, the Swedish Army has about 160 towed and self-propelled artillery guns (including Archer 155mm self-propelled howitzers that are in service with the Ukrainian military).
The Swedish Navy has a respectable fleet of 20 surface combatants and submarines (four) as well as 13 large patrol ships. In addition, the Swedish Navy has a plethora of smaller vessels that can operate in the Baltic Sea.
Finally, the Swedish Air Force fields more than 200 aircraft, including about 100 JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets and more than 30 UH-60 Black Hawk and NH90 medium transport helicopters.
In addition to the weapon systems, the Swedish Armed Forces bring expert arctic warfare fighting skills that can prove extremely useful to the transatlantic alliance beyond the context of Russia.
“Completing Sweden’s accession to NATO is an historic step that benefits the security of all NATO Allies at this critical time. It makes us all stronger and safer,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during the NATO summit in Lithuania.
Military Budgets
Besides the number of troops and weapon systems, Sweden is a country that invests in its armed forces and has a robust defense and aerospace industry. The JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet, for example, is manufactured by SAAB.
With a military budget of just over $9 billion for 2023, the Swedish military would be at the top of the lower group of NATO countries when it comes to defense expenditure.
The first unofficial group is comprised of the big-4 plus a surprising addition. The United States is the uncontested winner with a jaw-dropping $860 billion, followed by Germany ($70 billion), the United Kingdom ($69 billion), France ($58 billion), and Poland ($32 billion)—Warsaw almost doubled its defense budget within a year.
The second unofficial group still spends considerable money on defense and is comprised of Italy ($31 billion), Canada ($29 billion), Spain ($19 billion), Netherlands ($16 billion), Turkey ($13 billion).
Stockholm would be in the third unofficial group. Sweden’s annual defense expenditure puts it above Romania ($8.6 billion), Norway ($8.5 billion), Finland ($7.4 billion), Greece ($7.3 billion), Belgium ($7.2 billion), Denmark ($6.9 billion), Hungary ($5 billion), and the Czech Republic ($5 billion).
Finally, the fourth group includes countries like Portugal ($4.2 billion), Slovakia ($2.6 billion), Latvia ($1 billion), and Slovenia ($960 million).
A 19FortyFive Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
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