Sweden’s Military Sharply Cutting Land Forces, Tanks

Strv 122: darkest before…?(click to view full) In May 2006, “2007 Budget Proposal Cuts Swedish Gripen Force, Looks to Buy Strategic Lift” covered the budget issues facing Sweden’s armed forces, which had to deal with budget cuts, even as Sweden’s politicians increased their expensive international deployments. Something had to give. Something did. Sweden’s Minister of Defence Mikael Odenberg, who resigned on principle in September 2007, saying that the contradiction would endanger Sweden’s forces and its soldiers. In January 2008, current defence minister Sten Tolgfors became embroiled in controversy when he criticized Supreme Commander Hakan Syren’s moves to cut the length of national service and slash flying hours for fighter pilots, in response to an operational budget shortfall of over $200 million. An April 2008 report confirmed that further cuts were on the way, and the minister worked to put a sunny face on the process after his Defence Commission issued a June 2008 report that agreed with his vision. A November 2008 government directive to the Supreme Commander from November confirms that the military budget will be frozen at SKR 38.9 billion (about $4.9 billion) per year through 2014, which means slight cuts over time in inflation-adjusted terms. Now, The […]