On Friday, Sweden and Germany rehearses a rapid deployment of forces to Gotland, exercising NATO plans to rapidly strengthen the defence of the Baltic Sea region. German troops landed at Visby harbour alongside Swedish forces, while units from the Swedish and German Navy and Air Force secured the seas and the skies.
This autumn, the Swedish Armed Forces will contribute units to strengthen Finland’s territorial defence against drones. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has led to an increase in drone incursions into allied airspace, including Finnish airspace. The Swedish Armed Forces are now strengthening the Alliance’s eastern defence with counter-drone capabilities in the air and at sea.
Special forces from Sweden, Poland and Lithuania have conducted a joint maritime special operations exercise in the Baltic Sea. The exercise, which took place in Swedish territorial waters, focused on contested boarding.
On Sweden’s National Day June 6, a ceremony was held in Boden to mark the establishment of NATO’s latest multinational force – Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF FIN) – with representatives from the Swedish Armed Forces, Finnish Defence Forces, NATO and specially invited guests.
Sweden is currently conducting exercise Aurora 26 - rehearsing the reinforcement and defence of Gotland and the Baltic Sea together with Danish, American, British, and Ukrainian forces. The military exercise marks a historic development as Sweden conducts exercise Aurora for the first time as a NATO Ally.
“NATO’s Forward Land Forces [FLF] in Finland is the Alliance’s foremost line of defense in the north,” says Swedish Colonel Daniel Rydberg, who will take command of the FLF with Sweden as a Framework Nation this summer. “We stand together with Finland and our allies to deter and defend in the High North.”
On Monday, 2 February, a group consisting of six Swedish JAS 39 Gripen aircraft landed at Keflavík Air Base, Iceland. During February–March, the Swedish Air Force will contribute to NATO’s incident preparedness, NATO Air Policing. This is the 55th rotation for Iceland—the first for the Swedish Air Force and for Skaraborg Air Wing F 7.
