Sweden unveils historical military rearmament plan
We are facing an entirely new security environment, Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson said as he presented plan to raise Sweden’s defence spending to 3,5% of GDP by 2030.
"Sweden and Europe are facing an entirely new security environment. That’s why today we unveiled Sweden’s largest military rearmament plan since the days of the Cold War," Kristersson said on March 26.
The Swedish defence spending is to increase to about 3,5 percent of GDP by 2030. The plan involves a loan-financed investment of approximately 300 billion SEK (€27 billion), the PM says on X.
The deal was announced one day before Kristersson travelled to Paris for multilateral talks on the situation in Ukraine.
The rearmament deal is based on an agreement with the Sweden Democrats, the far-right political party.
Included in the plan are purchases of new defence materiel totalling SEK 25 billion (€2,31 billion) from 2025, for delivery in 2026–2028.
This materiel will include air defence, drones, rocket artillery, personal protective equipment and ammunition, the Swedish government informs.
Sweden also intends to boost its defence against hybrid threats. An additional SEK 96 million (€8,86 million) will be spent in 2025 on a hybrid threats package aimed at strengthen the capabilities of the Swedish Coast Guard, The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and the Psychological Defence Agency. It will empower the authorities to counter and manage hybrid threats in various domains, including the maritime and cyber domains, Kristersson and his government explain.
The Nordic country also increases its military support for Ukraine to SEK 40 billion (€3,69 billion) in 2025, an increase of SEK 15 billion.
"This enables Ukraine to swiftly boost its defence capability at a particularly vulnerable point in time."
A part of the Swedish rearmament plan will be aimed at the northern parts of the country, where two new mechanised brigades for subarctic warfare are under development .
The brigades are to be operational by 2028. One of them will be developed in Boden, the other in Skövde.
