The Swedish Navy has now successfully test-fired live torpedoes from an unmanned combat boat together with FMV, FOI and Saab.
At first glance it sounds like a small experiment.
It is not.
This is the beginning of distributed naval warfare Swedish-style:
unmanned attack craft
low radar signature
coastal ambush tactics
networked sensors
heavy weapons without risking crews
Imagine dozens of small autonomous or remotely controlled boats hiding among Sweden’s archipelagos, suddenly launching torpedoes against larger surface ships.
For a navy trying to operate near the Swedish coast, that becomes a nightmare.
Very Swedish warfare doctrine. 🇸🇪
Ballistic missiles are Russia’s last remaining argument in this war, and we must find sufficient countermeasures. I thank our partners and Mark Rutte that the PURL initiative exists and is functioning – contributions were made this May. There will be contributions in June as well. Today, we discussed how we can accelerate and expand deliveries under this key program.
I also thank all our partners who are already working with us on joint production and helping with funding so that weapons production in Ukraine can continue to grow. We discussed with the NATO Secretary General several other things that could provide Ukraine with stronger long-term financial security guarantees. We will keep working on this at both the G7 Summit and the NATO Summit in Ankara.
Sanctions against Russia. Our long-range capabilities. Financing for Ukraine. Our political cooperation. And our partners’ determination to help Ukraine precisely when help is needed – all of this sends signals to Russia that this war will bring it no results. All of this is also an incentive for Russia to turn to diplomacy. And we very much hope that over the summer and autumn we will be able to bring a real peace closer – a fair and dignified peace. I thank everyone who is helping. Thank you, @SecGenNATO!
”Last year almost 500 000 Russian tourists were let into Europe, while Ukrainians were dying on the battlefield. This situation needs to be stopped.
That is why we, together with 10 other Member States, have put forward an initiative for new EU visa restrictions for Russian citizens.” @JohanForssell at JHA
BREAKING
Ukrainian long-range drones have struck a Russian Svetlyak-class patrol ship near the Crimean Bridge
Several Russian sailors were killed in the strikes. It’s the second Russian ship hit by Ukrainian drones over the past 24 hours (a frigate was hit in St Petersburg too)
Rubio hyllar Sverige och Finland inom Nato
USA:s utrikesminister Marco Rubio berömmer Sverige och Finland för deras bidrag till Nato.
– Sverige och Finland har faktiskt bidragit till Nato eftersom de har tillfört egen försvarsindustri och avancerad teknologi. De har varit mycket goda partner, sade Rubio.
Han beskrev också de båda länderna som ”extraordinära partner” inom alliansen.
The Swedish Gripen and the Meteor Missile: Why Is Russia So Nervous?
If Sweden ultimately transfers JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine along with long-range Meteor missiles, it could become one of the most significant developments in the air war since the start of the full-scale invasion.
The Gripen was designed specifically to counter a stronger opponent. It is a lightweight 4++ generation multirole fighter capable of operating from short stretches of highway only about 800 meters long. It does not require massive airbases or hundreds of support personnel. Refueling, rearming, and preparing for another sortie takes only minutes, while operating costs are significantly lower than those of many Western counterparts.
But the aircraft itself is not the main advantage.
The Gripen's most powerful weapon is the Meteor air-to-air missile. Thanks to its ramjet engine, the missile maintains high speed throughout most of its flight path and can engage targets at ranges exceeding 150 kilometers, with some estimates reaching up to 200 kilometers.
For the Russian Air Force, this represents an entirely new level of threat.
Today, Russian aircraft carrying guided glide bombs often operate relatively safely, remaining outside the engagement range of most Ukrainian systems. These aircraft launch dozens of glide bombs every day against Ukrainian cities and military positions.
The arrival of Gripens armed with Meteor missiles would force Russian Su-34s, Su-35s, and other combat aircraft to remain much farther from the front line. The farther an aircraft is from its target, the more difficult it becomes to employ glide bombs effectively, reducing both their accuracy and impact.
This would mean more than simply reducing pressure on Ukrainian forces.
It would mean fewer bombs falling on Kharkiv.
Fewer strikes against Zaporizhzhia.
Less danger for Mykolaiv.
Fewer destroyed homes, schools, and hospitals.
Of course, no single aircraft can instantly change the course of a war. But the combination of modern fighters, long-range missiles, and well-trained pilots could significantly restrict Russia's air operations and deprive the Kremlin of one of its most effective tools of intimidation.
That is why Moscow follows every report about a possible transfer of Swedish Gripens and Meteor missiles to Ukraine so closely.
For Russian aviation, this is no longer just another fighter jet.
It is a warning that the era of near-impunity in aerial bombardment may be coming to an end.
Rubio: ”Sweden and Finland have actually contributed [to NATO] because they brought their own defense industry, their own advanced technologies.
So they've been a great partner. They've been an extraordinary partner.”
Nyheten om Gripen till Ukraina har mötts av glädje och stolthet hos många svenskar. Så dock inte hos "nationalistpartiledaren" Gustav Kasselstrand vars uttalanden stämde så väl in på Kremls talepunkter att han fick stor plats i den statliga ryska tv-kanalen Rossija 1:s rapportering.
Kasselstrands parti har tidigare marknadsfört sig som något slags nationalistiskt parti som motsätter sig "folkutbyte" i Sverige. När folkutbyte nu sker i sydöstra Ukraina och de ursprungliga ukrainska invånarna dödas, fördrivs, blir av med sina hem eller manipuleras att flytta till avfolkningsbygder i ryska fjärran östern och istället ersätts av tjetjener, centralasiatiska gästarbetare och ryssar så verkar dock Kasselstrand inte ha mycket emot det. Åtminstone inte så mycket att partiet vill ge något stöd till Ukraina att förhindra att en ännu större del av det ukrainska folket råkar ut för samma sak.
Inte heller verkar hans parti ge uttryck för stolthet när svensk ingenjörskonst i form av stridsflygplanet JAS-39 Gripen väljs ut som det bästa valet av ett land som kämpar för sin självständighet mot Sveriges historiska ärkefiende.
Kasselstrand bor för övrigt inte i Sverige sedan flera år. Hur han skulle agera vid ett ryskt angrepp mot Sverige får vi förhoppningsvis aldrig veta.
🇸🇪🇺🇦 Ukrainians come and train with us, - Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson
We learn important lessons from them every day.
And if Ukrainian units come to the island of Gotland, I want tough, realistic training.
- I don't want them to put on a show...
NATO is turning Sweden’s Baltic island of Gotland into a military stronghold because it is strategically important and seen as vulnerable to Russian aggression.
Sweden is increasing troop numbers, air defenses, and military infrastructure, while NATO is conducting large-scale exercises there.
Officials are also worried about Russian hybrid attacks such as sabotage, espionage, and drone activity.
Source: POLITICO
🇺🇦🇸🇪 GRIPEN LOOKS BUILT FOR THE WAR UKRAINE IS ACTUALLY FIGHTING
Ukraine has reportedly received 16 Swedish Gripen fighters and wants 20 more of the latest model by 2030.
Cheaper to fly than F-16s, able to take off from regular roads, serviced without a classic airbase, and compatible with guided bombs, AIM-120, JDAM, GBU-39, and Meteor missiles with 200km+ range.
That matters in Ukraine.
Russia keeps striking airfields, so a fighter that can disappear onto roads, dirt strips, and improvised sites is not a luxury. It is survival engineering.
Gripen was designed by a country that lived next to the USSR and understood one thing very well: in a real war, fixed infrastructure gets hit first. Now its first serious combat test may come in the skies over Ukraine.
🇸🇪 MoD Pål Jonson: Ukrainians come and train with us. We’re learning important lessons from them every day.
And If Ukrainian units come to island of Gotland, I want hard, realistic training. I don’t want them to do an exhibition.
One of the things that has become absolutely clear is that you can no longer conduct maneuver warfare in the old way, and you cannot concentrate mass. Russians tried it few weeks ago, and one of their armored battalions was completely annihilated.
That’s why we’re also investing heavily in our own drone capabilities. We need to adapt and learn modern electronic warfare as well.
I’m proud that we’re collaborating with Ukrainians. I’m grateful for this cooperation. It’s precisely because we support Ukraine so strongly in this war that we receive this kind of valuable training in return.
Our new long-range sanctions – and this is 500 kilometers from our state border. We are rightfully bringing the war back to where it came from. Russia could have ended its aggression long ago, but instead chose to prolong and continue it. So another facility of Russia’s oil industry has been reached – Armavir, Krasnodar Krai.
I thank our Security Service warriors for this result. What matters is that, step by step, we are carrying out our plan of long-range sanctions – in response to everything Russia is doing against our country and our people. All forms of our sanctions – legal and entirely practical long-range ones – are working to bring peace closer. Thank you for your precision!
I cannot wait for 🇷🇺 russians to meet the 🇸🇪 Swedish Gripen fighter jet, which funnily was built specifically to fuck up the soviets, how beautiful 😍
36 are on their way to 🇺🇦
Ukraine WILL WIN!!!
STUBB: Ukrainians eliminating 35,000 Russian soldiers per month, launching more drones and missiles into Russia than vice versa. Ukraine reclaiming territory, striking deeper into Russia. Popularity of war in Russia is shrinking. Tides are actually turning and Ukraine is on top.
1/ Ukrainian fighter pilot Vadym Voroshylov says Sweden's Gripen is "the only fighter jet in the world I'd sell my soul for."
Stockholm and Kyiv have struck a deal on this workhorse Swedish fighter.
Here's why the Gripen is so vital to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇸🇪 🧵⤵️
Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson: "We joke in Sweden and say that Canada is the most Nordic country in the world outside the Nordics. For us it's really a way of saying that we appreciate Canada because we think we have so many common denominators."
🇸🇪 POLITICO: NATO is turning Sweden’s Gotland island into a military stronghold because it is strategically important and seen as vulnerable to Russian aggression.
Sweden is increasing troop numbers, air defenses, and military infrastructure, while NATO is conducting large-scale exercises there.
Officials are also worried about Russian hybrid attacks such as sabotage, espionage, and drone activity.