DefenceTalkA new defence strategy bid set to be unveiled by the Swedish government on Friday calls for increased co-operation with Nato, Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reports. Nato membership is a long-running debate in Sweden, with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s ruling center-left coalition among those against it. But the Svenska Dagbladet daily reports that it has […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sweden-eyes-closer-defence-ties-with-nato-63957/

DefenceTalkSweden will raise defence spending by 10.2 billion kronor (1.09 billion euros, $1.18 billion) for the period 2016 to 2020, the government said Friday amid concerns over Russia’s military resurgence. “The agreement sends a signal, internationally, that Sweden is reacting to the security situation in the world, that Sweden is a guarantor for peace and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sweden-raises-defence-budget-amid-russia-concerns-63898/

DefenceTalkNorwegian daily Aftenposten reported Thursday on the defence cooperation agreement involving Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark in an op-ed undersigned by their respective Defence Ministers. The background to the intensified collaboration was said to be the perceived threat posed by Russia. “The Russian aggression against the Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea are […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nordics-to-step-up-security-cooperation-on-perceived-russian-threat-63803/

DefenceTalkSwedish defence company Saab Dynamics is close to finalizing a new arms sales deal with Saudi Arabia, financial newspaper Dagens Industri reports. Intense negotiations over the delivery of the anti-tank missile Bill 2 have been going on for nearly one year, according to Dagens Industri. The ongoing diplomatic row between Sweden and Saudi Arabia will […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-weapons-on-the-way-to-saudi-arabia-63544/

DefenceTalkSweden said on Thursday it would raise defence spending by 6.2 billion kronor (677 million euros, $720 million) and bring back troops to a “strategic” Baltic island amid concerns over Russia’s military resurgence. The country’s left-wing government said most of the money, to be spent between 2016 and 2020, would go towards modernizing ships that […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sweden-raises-military-spending-amid-concerns-over-russia-63488/

DefenceTalkSaudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Stockholm, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, as a rift between the two countries deepened with Sweden cutting military ties after a row over a human rights speech. “Diplomatic relations are not broken. But Saudi Arabia’s ambassador has been recalled,” foreign ministry spokesman Erik Boman told AFP. Sweden […]https://www.defencetalk.com/saudi-arabia-recalls-ambassador-to-sweden-after-military-ties-cut-63453/

DefenceTalkWith a diminishing number of Swedes with a completed army service and a drop in volunteer recruits, the military is a facing a severe shortage of soldiers, a report commissioned by Sweden’s Defence Committee shows. “We have a reserve of conscripts, but it will soon have been emptied,” Allan Widman, the chairman of parliament’s Defence […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sweden-faces-soldier-shortage-63408/

DefenceTalkExelis has been awarded a contract valued at more than $17 million to provide electronic support measures (ESM) technology and services to Sweden through a subcontract with shipbuilder Saab, in Sweden. Under the contract, Exelis will provide Swedish submarines with the latest model of the sophisticated ES-3701 electronic warfare (EW) system, offering a significant capability […]https://www.defencetalk.com/exelis-to-provide-esm-technology-services-to-swedish-submarines-61917/

DefenceTalkSweden’s military on Sunday confirmed a second sighting in October of what appeared to have been a submarine in waters near Stockholm city center, not long after a search had been launched for a suspected Russian submarine off the coast. In November the Swedish military released images of tracks on the sea bed and an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sweden-confirms-second-submarine-sighting-61832/

DefenceTalkWith an assertive Russia next door, Sweden has started to beef up its military after a decade of downsizing, but a credible deterrent may take years to achieve, analysts warn. In one of Sweden’s most dramatic steps since the end of the Cold War, it has brought back the option of using reservists to boost […]https://www.defencetalk.com/assertive-russia-causes-military-rethink-in-sweden-61133/