OOB 066 Sweden [WIP]

[wulfir]

- BASICS -

During the Cold War the Swedish armed forces prepared to meet ‘the Invasion’.
The one potential enemy was the Soviet Union, often known by the term Stormakten –Swedish for ‘The Great Power’.

It was believed ‘the Great Power’ in times of conflict might have wanted grab Swedish territory or be able to use Swedish airspace in a war against the western powers, especially the northern and southern parts of the country.

The Swedish armed forces were meant to have such strength that a successful Soviet invasion would demand unreasonable resources and be much too costly to seem worthwhile.

Neutrality was a sacred concept and endorsed by the population at large. No political party would seriously question it, officially, as it was akin to political suicide. In secret Sweden had a lot of contact with the western powers, much of it something that the USSR was probably aware of.

Following the demise of the Soviet Union the Swedish armed forces were, over a period of years, subject to massive downsizing. Focus shifted steadily from “facing the invasion” to “international missions”. Today the aim of the Swedish armed forces is primarily being able to deploy smaller number of troops (from small detachments to battalion/battlegroup size) to various hotspots in the world, generally in a peacekeeping/peace-enforcing role.