Sweden, Finland Sharpen Amphibious Readiness in Baltics

HELSINKI — The critical importance placed by Finnish and Swedish forces on sharpening their land and amphibious combat readiness and offensive capabilities was underlined by their participation June when non-aligned Sweden and Finland participated in the NATO-led BALTOPS 2015 multinational near-coast assault and retake exercises focused on defending strategic positions and territories in the Baltic region.

BALTOPS, which included a large US multi-branch force among the 5,600 troops and 17 nations participating, carried a special significance for Finland and Sweden against a backdrop of unceasing tensions in the region ignited by Moscow's intervention in Ukraine.

Harassment by Russian forces in the region has also increased, The more brittle relations between Russia and the Nordic and Baltic countries has also produced an increase in harassing activities by Russia's military, including mock missile attacks and suspected submarine incursions to test the readiness of Finland's and Sweden's armed forces.

A more unpredictable Kremlin, coupled with the changed security situation, in the region generally, has culminated in a Swedish plan to refortify Gotland, Sweden's most forward-situated island in the Baltic Sea. Gotland is regarded as Sweden's first line of defense against a future attack from the east.

Moreover, the loss of Gotland in as part of a coordinated invasion by enemy forces, and the placement there of long-range air-defense and anti-ship missile systems, would seriously inhibit US-led NATO air and naval forces from entering the Baltic Sea to aid of under attack NATO Baltic states under attack.

The loss of a largely undefended Gotland , without an effective and immediate joined offensive naval-amphibious and air-strike response, would enable an enemy to virtually dominate all of Sweden using anti-air, anti-ship and tactical missiles, conceivably forcing Swedish warships to stay in port while grounding Swedish fighters and attack helicopters.

The refortified garrison on Gotland is expected to comprise at least one mechanized infantry unit equipped with CV-90 tracked infantry fighting vehicles, as well as tank, reconnaissance, UAV, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), artillery, anti-aircraft defense, logistics, engineering and amphibious companies.

In collaboration with NATO forces, Finland and Sweden are planning to use a combination of large-scale exercises, such as BALTOPS and Northern Coast, to battle-test and strengthen amphibious equipment and capabilities.

The latest incident, on Aug. 31, resulted in Sweden's Armed Forces Command (AFC) scrambling JAS Gripen interceptors to identify and track two Russian Tu-22 fighter planes escorted by Su-27 aircraft, which flew to the east of Gotland.

"This was not a violation of our airspace, but we considered the aircraft to be of interest to us," command AMC spokesman Jesper Tengroth said.

Closer Swedish-Finn ties are en's defense deepening with Finland expected to increase lead to a scaling-up of joint exercises by the existing Swedish-Finnish Amphibious Task Unit (SWEFIN-ATU), which comprises the Swedish 1st Amphibious Regiment and the Finnish Armed Force's (FAF) Uusimaa Brigade Amphibious Task Unit.

SWEFIN-ATU was established to bolster amphibious strike effectiveness and capabilities while facilitating the deployment, if required, of a large-scale Swedish-Finnish force for crisis response.

There also is a proposed Furthermore, the Swedish-Finnish defense deepening action plan includes proposal to establish a mission-based, modular type Swedish-Finnish Naval Task Group (SFNTG) for similar crisis response operations. The SFNTG would be able to conduct also have an Arctic operations capability backed by logistics support units trained to operate in extreme climates.

It is envisaged that the SFNTG, which is expected to achieve initial operational capability in 2017, and final operational readiness and capability in 2023, would conduct sea surveillance, exercises and include combined units. It would share infrastructure and be able to transfer operational control of units between the Swedish and Finnish navies.

A Swedish-Finnish Naval Task Group would also be able to have the capacity to operate independently or together with SWEFIN-ATU and the Surveillance Cooperation Finland-Sweden (SUCFIS) joint collaboration vehicle. Established in 2006, it enables the Finnish and Swedish navies to share the recognized maritime picture of defined areas in the northern Baltic Sea, including the Gulf of Finland.

The SWEFIN-ATU's organization and structure could be the basis to used to expand the concept to develop a Nordic-Baltic amphibious task force, a possibility being considered by Nordic and Baltic governments. under the umbrella of closer Nordic defense cooperation.

Stoltenberg argued that a collective Nordic amphibious force would not only strengthen the amphibious capacity of individual countries, but collectively it would provide a more effective joint response to crisis situations regionally and internationally.

Sweden's 1st Amphibious Regiment and Finland's the FAF's Uusimaa Brigade Amphibious Task Unit were prominent in both BALTOPS and Northern Coast 2014 exercises.

The battle capability and readiness of both units, the 1st Amphibious Regiment and the Uusimaa Brigade Amphibious Task Unit (UBATU), which are already assigned to the NATO Response Force, are regularly tested in large-scale interoperability exercises with NATO forces, including airborne and special forces units.

Apart from the 1st Amphibious Regiment, Sweden's full contribution to the NATO Response Force comprises a JAS Gripen fighter squadron of up to 12 aircraft and a mine-sweeping ship.