At the edge of the world, French and Swedish warplanes deter Putin, politico.eu

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Tidskriften Politico beskriver ökat militärt samarbete mellan Sverige och Frankrike. Bland annat gäller det gemensamma flygövningar utgående från Kallaxbasen. Svenskt territorium anges som ett idealiskt läge för militära insatser mot Ryssland i den allt viktigare arktiska regionen.

Tidskriften tar även upp diskussioner som förts mellan Sverige och Frankrike om de franska kärnvapnen som ett nytt slags paraply efter USA.

Sverige som bas och transitland för andra stormakter inom Nato samt det faktum att de fåtaliga svenska markstyrkorna skall kunna placeras i Finland och Baltikum gör oss sårbara. Avsaknaden av ett eget territorialförsvar gör att regering och försvarsledning kan komma att sätta sin tillit till stormakters beskydd och tydligen har man från svensk sida inte uteslutit att sådant beskydd kan inrymma även kärnvapen. (Utgivarna)

Artikel i Politico

[…] France’s April deployment of the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport is part of the Pégase High North mission to Sweden’s northernmost air base of Luleå. It’s the third such visit by the French air force this year — a concrete example of Paris pivoting to European defense after decades of focusing mainly on the Indo-Pacific and the Sahel.

It’s also a sign of closer cooperation between two of Europe’s defense heavyweights as the continent boosts military spending to counter the threat from Russia, amid questions over the U.S. commitment to Europe’s security under President Donald Trump. […]

Sweden and Finland joining NATO — a break from decades of neutrality triggered by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — is putting more focus on the Arctic as the region becomes a growing source of tension for NATO, Russia and even China.

That makes the Swedish base a ”sweet spot to protect the border in the east,” said Colonel Peter Greberg, the commander of Luleå’s air base. ”We’re approximately 600 to 700 kilometers away from the first Russian military base. From a flying perspective, it’s not that far.” […]
Crucially, Sweden is also among the European countries most interested in Macron’s proposal to talk about how French nuclear weapons can be used to protect Europe, several French and Swedish officials said.
The topic was addressed when Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson met with his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu in Paris in March; several Rafales sent to Luleå during the Pégase High North deployment were nuclear-capable.
”The question of the [European nuclear] deterrent is looming in the background. We follow this very closely depending on how the Americans are operating and acting,” said Jakob Hallgren, the director of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, referring to growing worries about the reliability of the U.S. under Trump. Läs artikel
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