"Russia’s growing threat to north Europe" Topic

"SOME states soothe their citizens in troubled times. Others prefer not to sugar-coat things. "A larger European conflict could start with an attack on Sweden," warned the most recent report of the country's defence commission. Electricity would be limited. Calorie intake would fall. Tens of thousands might be wounded. This was not idle talk: in June, all 22,000 Swedish volunteer soldiers were called up for the largest surprise exercise since 1975. For the first time in almost 30 years, the government has written to millions of households exhorting them to prepare for the worst. "We will never give up," warned leaflets decorated with vivid tableaux of burning buildings and rolling tanks.

Sweden's aim is to hold out for three months, until help arrives. These twin tasks—becoming "indigestible to Russia", as one analyst puts it, and ensuring that the cavalry shows up—will be high on the agenda of whichever government emerges from the hung parliament produced by the election of September 9th. Sweden may not be a member of NATO. But under Stefan Lofven, Sweden's Social Democratic prime minister for the past four years, it has manoeuvred as close to the alliance as it is possible to get from the outside. By deferring the question of outright membership, anathema to the left, he created political space to tighten Sweden's triple embrace of America, NATO and its neighbours. A landmark "host nation" agreement with NATO was steered through parliament in 2016. America's potential wartime role in Sweden was once a state secret; now contingency plans can be made openly…."
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Amicalement
Armand

The boom, the bomb drops and everyone on earth is dead in a day.

So let's not worry about the Russian bogeyman attacking Sweden.

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

One presumes that the Swedish military is talking to the Finnish.

I would lay odds there have been plans covering this in Finland since 1945.

Sweden will have a very hard time trying to defend itself. the Swedish armed forces have been greatly reduced and are fiscally starved. Sweden talks and trains with the finns but the actual numbers of troops, tanks, planes and ships are way too small.

If war comes there will be a huge strain on the hospitals to cope with the wounded. Soldiers wounded can not expect to receive hospital care or undergo surgery for their injuries. Hospitals would be swamped injured people within hours.

Sweden also lacks certain weapon systems such as long range SAM missiles completely.

Sweden would be in big, big trouble if war came.

The Swedish govt wants to buy the Patriot SAM system and have a 17 year plan of increasing defence expenditure to create a combined military of 120,000, with new AFV's and up to 120 fighter jets, 6 submarines and 24 surface vessels……

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There is no fixed 17 year plan. The politicians talk but do not, in the end, want to allocate the monet. So far all all increases in military spending are slightly below what is needed to maintain the current level. Yes we bought the Patriot system but no missiles. Yes. No missiles… they will be purchased in the future if we need them…

So all talk about x number of subs or y number of aircraft is just talk.