How Sweden's military compares to the UK's ahead of long-awaited Nato accession
Sweden is set to finally complete its long-awaited accession to Nato after two years of waiting.
But, with the Scandinavian nation set to become a fully-fledged member of the alliance, some argued Sweden joining the alliance just means more land for Nato to defend.
However, Elisabeth Braw, a Swedish defence expert, said that argument only works if "the countries that are joining contribute less than they get out of the alliance".
"Sweden will contribute more," she said.
Ms Braw said Sweden has a "well-trained and well-managed military" and is willing to contribute to Nato.
"[It] has already said they will be sending a battalion to Latvia, that is more than... most Nato member states are doing at the moment.
"Sweden will be a net contributor to Nato… and obviously brings the benefits of collective security to Sweden as well."
"Until now, Sweden has obviously been sort of an island outside Nato-territorially speaking."
But what does Sweden bring to the alliance, and how does Stockholm's military compare to the UK Armed Forces?
We used the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Military Balance 2024 report to compare the two nations' military strength, with Ms Braw explaining the strength behind the numbers.
Well firstly, Sweden's military is much smaller than the UK, with 14,850 active personnel serving in its Armed Forces – compared to the UK's 144,400.
It is worth noting, however, that Sweden has a population of 10.6 million, compared to the UK's 67 million inhabitants.
Army
When looking at individual services, the British Army has a strength of 80,350 troops compared to Sweden's 6,850 personnel.
Ms Braw said the Swedish military faced extreme cuts in the 1990s and 200s
"Sweden's military is not by any means near where it used to be in size," she said.
"You could almost say, you know, for a country its size, the military is comparable to the UK military, bearing in mind that the UK has a much larger population."
In terms of hardware, the Swedish military has 110 Leopard 2A5 main battle tanks, compared to the UK's 213 Challenger 2 tanks.
Sweden has 361 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, compared to the UK's 388+ and 1,017 Armoured Personnel Carriers compared to the UK's 806.
In terms of artillery, Sweden has 254 pieces, including 26 Archer, 40 CV90 Mjolner and 108 M/86 artillery systems.
There is also some cross-over in air defence, with Sweden having, among other things, 20+ SAM systems, 12 long-range M903 Patriot missile systems, MIM-23B Hawk medium-range missile systems and 8 IRIS-T SLS (RBS-98) and RBS-23 BAMSE systems.
The UK, meanwhile, has 60+ SAM systems, the CAMM (Land Ceptor) medium-range capability and 60 Stormer systems with Starstreak missiles.
Air Force
Sweden's Air Force is its second largest service, after the Army – whereas the RAF is the UK's smallest service.
Ms Braw said the Swedish Air Force is "very strong" adding it is "a legacy of the Cold War, when Sweden had a disproportionately large air force" that was "extremely well-equipped".
Sweden's Air Force contains 2,700 personnel, whilst the RAF has a strength of 31,700.
In terms of hardware, Sweden has 99 combat-capable fighter jets, with 96 JAS 39C/D Gripen; 3 JAS 39E Gripen – currently in test.
They also have 2 Gulfstream IV SRA-4 aircraft used for signals intelligence, 3 Argus aircraft, 1 KC-130H Hercules, 5 C-130H Hercules, 2 Saab 340, 1 Gulfstream 550.
The UK, meanwhile, has 21 combat-capable aircraft, including 159 fighter jets.
This includes 32 F-35Bs, 121 Typhoon FGR4s, with a further 10 in store and 6 Typhoon T3s.
The UK also has 9 Poseidon aircraft, 8 Shadow R1, 3 RC-135W Rivet Joint, 3 E-3D Sentry aircraft, 10 Voyagers, 22 A400M Atlas, 8 C-17A Globemaster and 2 Falcon 900LX aircraft.
The UK also has 11 Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles compared to Sweden's 8.
Sweden's air force uses laser-guided PavewayII bombs as well as GPS-guided GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs, whereas the RAF use Paveway II, III and IV bombs.
Navy
The Royal Navy boasts 32,350 servicemen and women, whilst the Swedish Navy has 2,350.
Sweden's Navy is split, with 1,250 being Naval personnel and 1,100 being classed as Amphibious.
Sweden has 4 submarines, 5 Visby corvettes, 2 Göteborg ships and 2 Stockholm vessels, as well as 122 fast patrol boats, 7 Mine-warfare ships, 6 Landing Craft and 15 Logistics and Support Ships.
In comparison, the Royal Navy has 10 submarines, made up of 4 Vanguard-class, nuclear deterrent submarines, 5 Astute-class subs and 1 Trafalgar-class submersible.
The Navy also has 2 aircraft carriers, 6 destroyers, 11 Frigates, 26 Patrol boats, 2 Amphibious Landing Platform Dock ships and 5 Logistic and Support ships.
Ms Braw said Sweden can help Nato "master" the Baltic Sea.
"Sweden… has an excellent Navy, not particularly big, but it's bigger than every other navy in the Baltic Sea except Germany," she said.
"That matters because the Baltic Sea is a body of water that Nato will have to pay more attention to.
"The US Navy and the Royal Navy are not perfectly equipped to operate in the Baltic Sea. The Swedish Navy is much better equipped to operate there."
Behind the numbers
Ms Braw also outlined a number of factors that differ between the two militaries that cannot be seen in statistics.
Firstly, she said the "UK is more used to expeditionary operations".
"Sweden obviously participated in Afghanistan and has a long history of UN peacekeeping and similar missions," she said.
"But… the military is not set up for expeditionary warfare to the same extent that the UK military is.
"The Swedish Navy really does operate almost exclusively in the Baltic Sea and on the Swedish West Coast."
Ms Braw also said Sweden has a "culture of citizen involvement in national defence".
"During the Cold War, the… voluntary involvement in the armed forces was extraordinary and remains quite high to this day," she said.
"It's not just the armed forces where you can serve as a professional soldier… it's also a string of auxiliary organizations where you can volunteer, and that is a massive benefit to the country's security.
"And these… auxiliary organisations, for the most part, don't involve any sort of weapons duty.
"It's a perfect hobby and it also contributes to national security.
"I think that is something that the UK and other countries can learn from, that ordinary citizens can get involved in national security and it doesn't have to be within the Armed Forces."
Finally, Ms Braw said "most Western countries are exclusively focused on defending their own territory", with these having been "perfected" by the Swedish Armed Forces.
But now, she said Sweden joining Nato could see participation in deployments, such as "the various Red Sea missions".
"You can see that the threats are changing," she said.
"So it's not just a matter of defending your territory anymore.
"As a Western country, you may need to to be involved elsewhere just to help her protect the global order.
"I think… this will be a bit of a new experience for Sweden."
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