'The risk of an attack cannot be excluded': Sweden boosts defense spending amid Russian threat

Sweden has introduced a defense bill that will increase military spending to 2.4% of GDP or more next year in response to the threat from Russia, the country's Defense Minister Pål Jonson told Politico.

"The risk of an attack cannot be excluded. Russia is the principal threat to Sweden, and it constitutes a threat to the whole [NATO] alliance," he said.

Currently, Russia's freedom of action is limited, as its ground forces are bogged down in Ukraine. However, Sweden considers Russia willing to take significant military and political risks, Jonson added.

Overall, defense spending will rise by 10% next year as part of a long-term stimulus.

The country has planned an additional €15 billion ($16.3 billion) in military spending and €3.1 billion ($3.4 billion) for civil defense by 2030, on top of the existing budget. By 2028, Sweden's defense budget will reach 2.6% of GDP, exceeding NATO's minimum target of 2%.

Higher spending on military and civil defense marks a return to the "1980s focus on being prepared for anything," but now Sweden is a NATO member, whereas during the Cold War, it was technically neutral, Politico notes.

"We had a strong civil defense in the Cold War. After 2015 we reactivated [it], and in this defense bill we put forward the necessary economic means to make it credible," the Defense Minister said.

He stated the goal is to enable Swedes to handle "a wartime situation."

Jonson emphasized the need to strengthen everything from the country's energy and transport networks to its healthcare and financial systems to ensure that Sweden does not become an "attractive target" for Moscow, given its nearly 3,300 km coastline and sparsely populated Arctic regions.

"Civil and military defense are two sides of the same coin," Jonson said.

According to Politico, military funds are allocated to everything from armored vehicles to new coastal missile systems, rocket artillery, three S106 Globaleye reconnaissance aircraft, Black Hawk HK16 utility helicopters, and the latest Gripen 39E fighter jets.

Plans also include upgrading five Visby-class corvettes, and the Navy will acquire three Luleå-class combat ships, both models being Swedish-made.

Additionally, the number of conscripts is set to increase to 10,000 by 2030, while the total size of the country's armed forces will grow by about 27,000 men and women to around 115,000. Four new brigades are also planned.

"There were decades of underinvestment. The burden-sharing has to become more equalized between America and Europe," Jonson said.