Sweden and Finland are on their way to NATO membership. Here’s what needs to happen next, atlanticcouncil.org

Moreover, from a substantive perspective, both countries will likely perceive an increased demand for capabilities and military capacity from the Alliance. Especially in terms of contributions to crisis management or expeditionary operations beyond the territory of the Alliance, […]

For instance, given that Finland’s active-duty force is similar in size to Denmark’s, it is reasonable to assume that Finland might be asked to make available a mechanized battalion group, if not an entire mechanized infantry brigade, as was requested of Denmark in a recent iteration of the NDPP. Similarly, since Sweden’s active duty force is similar in size to Slovakia’s, it is reasonable to assume that Sweden might be asked to provide forces equivalent to a full armored brigade combat team plus NATO-compatible air defense capabilities as Slovakia was in the latest iteration of the NDPP. […]

First, both countries, but especially Finland, should consider establishing warm- or cold[1]basing facilities into which reinforcements would flow in the event of a crisis. For example, in the early 2000s, the United States established what it called a forward operating site at Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase in Romania. This facility is relatively austere, but thanks to a skeleton permanent staff postured for turn-key operations, it has maintained the capacity to host a few thousand troops in short order as part of a  The US military maintains several prepositioned equipment sites in Europe, including in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, and during its Madrid summit NATO allies decided to preposition ammunition and equipment in Eastern Europe. Having equipment—weapons, vehicles, ammunition, medical supplies, and so forth—available in the event of a conflict would make reinforcing Finland and Sweden much easier. This equipment should be kept up to date as military forces are modernized and the allies should regularly exercise drawing from and making use of these prepositioned stocks. Where conditions allow, hardened facilities built to withstand attack from Russian cruise and ballistic missiles should be built in Finland and Sweden to house this equipment. Finland and Sweden might benefit in this regard from tapping into NATO’s common budget for infrastructure, known as the NATO Security Investment Program (NSIP). Läs rapporten