The Government is now submitting the proposal on Sweden's contribution to NATO's deterrence and defense to the Riksdag.
It appears that Sweden will continue to contribute to the defense alliance's activities both on land, at sea and in the air. This includes, among other things, the reduced battalion in Latvia, warships in NATO's standing maritime forces and Gripen aircraft in NATO's air surveillance.
The Government is also opening up for participation in other operations and activities.
We are needed in many places, and therefore we have taken into account significantly more efforts in this proposition, says Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (The Moderate Party).
Drones and fighter jets
One of them is the new special effort Eastern Sentry, which is NATO's response to Russian hybrid warfare.
The purpose is to strengthen control of the airspace in order to, for example, be able to handle violations by drones or fighter jets, says Pål Jonson.
He does not rule out that Gripen aircraft may be part of this, but wants to wait to say exactly what Sweden will contribute with until NATO's Supreme Commander has coordinated the effort.
The Government also states that they are expanding the land and marine forces somewhat. However, it is difficult to say how large the increase is because they have counted in different ways compared to last year.
It creates greater flexibility for NATO and the Defense Forces, and it means that a maximum of 400 people can contribute to each effort, says Maria Malmer Stenergard.
"Credible ally"
In addition, the Government proposes that all Swedish contributions under NATO command may remain in the event of armed attack. This previously only applied to the force in Latvia and the ships in NATO's standing maritime forces.
It is an important part of being a credible ally. Russia should know that we are prepared to act jointly and also quickly, says Malmer Stenergard.
