Sweden is going to take part in the joint military exercises with other NATO nations. The official statement by Armed Forces was released on Thursday, the same day of Vladimir Putin’s visit to neighbouring Finland.
Sweden and Finland concern the possibility of joining NATO, and both countries have played higher profile roles in NATO summits. Prior to the Sweden’s decision to join NATO drills, there has been an internal debate where Finland and Sweden discussed Russia’s increasing military power.
The Swedish AF has already announced plans to hold its largest joint military exercise in years with NATO members this September. Earlier, the Russian president has said that Russia would see Sweden joining NATO as a serious encroachment and would demand a military response.
Sweden as a part of NATO exercises Aurora 17
The Swedish military announced that the upcoming exercise will be labelled Aurora 17 and will involve land, air, and sea elements of the Swedish military and participating NATO members. Aurora 17 will mark another in a string of increasingly large and elaborate military exercises taking place in the Baltics and eastern Europe.
Aurora 17 will gather a lot of troops from Sweden (19,000 troops and 40 government agencies) and US (1,435 troops). Six other NATO countries (France, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Lithuania and Estonia) will be represented with the smaller contingents.
“Through frequent and extensive training and exercise, especially with other defence forces, Sweden is strengthening its deterrence effect and makes it more credible,”
reads the statement.
