Sweden raising defence expenditure by 40% 2021-2025

[Sardaukar]

Well, Swedish politicians have finally woken up to fact that Putin's Russia is nothing like peaceful democracy that was hoped to emerge in 90s...

Sweden still has big job to bring back the lost capabilities when they downsized military in past.

https://www.thelocal.se/20201015/sweden-to-ramp-up-military-spending-by-40-percent

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/15/sweden-to-increase-military-spending-by-40-as-tension-with-russia-grows

[RETAC21]

3 hours ago, Sardaukar said:

Well, Swedish politicians have finally woken up to fact that Putin's Russia is nothing like peaceful democracy that was hoped to emerge in 90s...

Sweden still has big job to bring back the lost capabilities when they downsized military in past.

https://www.thelocal.se/20201015/sweden-to-ramp-up-military-spending-by-40-percent

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/15/sweden-to-increase-military-spending-by-40-as-tension-with-russia-grows

Just sayin' that to get to Russia, they need to go through Finland, and that was part of Sweden a long time ago...

[BansheeOne]

From the original press release:

Quote

Substantial investment in total defence

Published 16 October 2020

In the government bill ‘Totalförsvaret 2021–2025’ (Total Defence 2021–2025), the Government is proposing a substantial increase of capabilities in both military and civilian defence. The bill includes proposals on a new and expanded war organisation with reinforcements in all branches and functions of defence, as well as the re-establishment of five regiments and one air wing. The bill also includes substantial investment in military equipment, reinforcements of cyber defence, ammunition and foreign intelligence capabilities, and a doubling of basic-training volumes. Within the civilian defence, resilience is strengthened in several important societal functions.

The Government’s proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

“This represents the largest increase in the level of ambition in defence capabilities in 70 years. The bill is based on the defence commissions proposal for both the civilian and military defence. It is a signal to the Swedish people and our neighbourhood that we are taking the security situation extremely seriously,” says Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist.

During the period 2021–2025, the level of fundingto the Armed Forces will have increased by SEK 27.5 billion, compared with 2020. In total, SEK 79 billion will be allocated to military defence during the period., The decisions that have been made and proposed by the Government during the period 2014–2020, will mean that the military defence will have increased its funding by 85 per cent in fixed prices between 2014 and 2025. In 2023, the Government will implement a control station to evaluate the implementation of the Defence Bill to ensure that the reinforcement and cost development is in phase according to the Riksdag's decision on direction and financial framework.

[...]

For geographical, emergency preparedness and training reasons, the Government is proposing, as previously announced, that the Swedish Armed Forces’ organisation should be expanded with the re-establishment with a number of regiments and an air wing.

The organisational units to be re-established are: the Norrland Dragoon Regiment (K 4) in Arvidsjaur; the Älvsborg Amphibious Regiment (Amf 4) in Gothenburg; Uppland Wing (F 16) in Uppsala; the Bergslagen Artillery Regiment (A 9) in Kristinehamn; the Dalarna Regiment (I 13) in Falun; and the Västernorrland Regiment (I 21) in Sollefteå, with a training detatchment in Östersund

More recruits for national military service

The total number of positions in the war organisation is expected to increase to approximately 90 000, which can be compared with 60 000 positions in 2020. This means that the number of people undergoing national total defence service basic training will be gradually increased to 8 000 per year until 2025.

Strengthened civilian defence

Civil and military defence reinforce each other. Alongside the increased funding to military defence, a gradual strengthening of civilian defence is also taking place, which will see total funds for civilian defence increasing to SEK 4.2 billion in 2025. Sweden’s capabilities to handle a state of heightened alert and, ultimately, war need to be strengthened on a broad front. The resilience of the most important societal functions must be strengthened, particularly the health and medical care system, the supply of food and drinking water, transportation, public order and safety, financial preparedness, energy supply and electronic communications and the postal service. In order to maintain the balance in the total defense, it is important to prirotize civil defence and that civil defence continues to develop.

[...]

https://www.government.se/press-releases/2020/10/substantial-investment-in-total-defence/

As usual, the budget numbers need a little detail. AIUI, the 40 percent increase is the total added until 2025 (27.5 out of 79 bn in the defense budget over five years, which is 34.8 percent; so I guess the last five or so points are in other budgets for civilian defense). Looking at their 2014-2019 defense expenditures, the total increase was indeed 42.6 percent, with the 2019 budget a little over 11 percent higher than the 2014 one. I guess we're looking at a similar raise by 2025.

Looking at NATO numbers since 2014 for comparison, it's actually not extraordinary. The US and France saw almost exactly the same increase, Italy's 2019 budget was 14 percent higher than in 2014, the UK's 15, Spain's 17, Germany's 27, Poland's and the Netherland's about 29, and Canada's a whooping 32. With the exception of Germany (where numbers are supposed to stay the same - an improvement over the original intent of slight reduction), I don't have plans for the next five years though.

[Ivanhoe]

Are there any English or Irish monasteries yet unplundered?

[Ssnake]

Nah, the Danes razed them all.

[bd1]

and  in the end of that spending spree the sweden will have 3 brigades, instead of current 2, if i understood correctly. 

Edited October 18, 2020 by bd1

[Ssnake]

Hey, a division!

[Ssnake]

Maybe even 12 artillery pieces...

[Yama]

1 hour ago, Ssnake said:

Maybe even 12 artillery pieces...

Not so long ago they had zero...so I'll take anything I can.

[Ssnake]

Six is what I heard... but either way, "not much".

[Sardaukar]

What I have read..e.g....disbanded regiments are re-formed in Falun, Sollefteå, Arvidsjaur, Göteborg, Uppsala and Kristinehamn.

Other source: 

REGIMENTS BEING RE-ESTABLISHED

• Norrland's dragon regiment (K 4) in Arvidsjaur

• Älvsborg's amphibious regiment (Amf 4) in Gothenburg

• Upplands air flotilla (F 16) in Uppsala

• Bergslagen's artillery regiment (A 9) in Kristinehamn

• The Valley Regiment (I 13) in Falun

• Västernorrland's regiment (I 21) in Sollefteå with training detachment in Östersund

Also number of conscripts are raised to 8000 per year.

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by Sardaukar

[DB]

On 10/16/2020 at 12:32 PM, BansheeOne said:

Looking at NATO numbers since 2014 for comparison, it's actually not extraordinary. The US and France saw almost exactly the same increase, Italy's 2019 budget was 14 percent higher than in 2014, the UK's 15, Spain's 17, Germany's 27, Poland's and the Netherland's about 29, and Canada's a whooping 32. With the exception of Germany (where numbers are supposed to stay the same - an improvement over the original intent of slight reduction), I don't have plans for the next five years though.

Can we blame Trump for this horrific rush to war? It seems fashionable.

[Yama]

On 10/19/2020 at 2:44 AM, Ssnake said:

Six is what I heard... but either way, "not much".

I think it dropped to zero at some point as Archer was late and old towed 155mm arty was retired after shells ran out of shelf life. Well, there were still mortars but...

[Ivanhoe]

2 hours ago, DB said:

Can we blame Trump for this horrific rush to war? It seems fashionable.

I think that's a given. Surely Boris Johnson is also to blame?

 

[Roman Alymov]

https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/for-15-years-sweden-thought-enemy-submarines-were-invading-its-territory-it-turned-out-to-be-herring-farts/?fbclid=IwAR2VKazzeevsbSjcr8cLKb9JKPCtDglhIdGGXw8FZX4U2hVSY0UGgNi1ZX8

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by Roman Alymov

[BansheeOne]

Would fit any number of topics, but since SIPRI is Swedish, I'll just stick their latest numbers about global development of defense expenditures here. 

https://sipri.org/media/press-release/2021/world-military-spending-rises-almost-2-trillion-2020

[glenn239]

Using USD for Russia, China and India seems to understates their spending.  Using PPP - 

 

China - 420

Russia - 145

India - 256

[Rickard N]

On 10/18/2020 at 6:26 PM, bd1 said:

and  in the end of that spending spree the sweden will have 3 brigades, instead of current 2, if i understood correctly. 

I wouldn't hold my breath...

/R

[KV7]

26 minutes ago, glenn239 said:

Using USD for Russia, China and India seems to understates their spending.  Using PPP - 

 

China - 420

Russia - 145

India - 256

PPP used like this is better, but tends to overstate the value of high technology goods and understate the value of low technology goods produced by less technologically sophisticated economies. But for China and Russia, they probabaly also have some atypical expertise in military production for their GDP per capita, and so it is probably pretty close.