There is often talk of Sweden's close military cooperation with the United States and NATO.

Cooperation with the British is very rarely mentioned, even though it is even more intimate - historically speaking.

The British can also move in much faster than the United States in the event of a conflict in the Baltic Sea region.

They are closer and are even more used to operating in the Baltic Sea area and in Sweden's barren environment.

Top secret evacuation

During the Cold War, there were secret plans to evacuate Sweden's government to Britain if there was to be a war.

The Swedish king was named an honorary admiral in the British Navy (1975) to name one example of the close relationship.

Of course, Sweden and the British are very close, but the statement by the British Minister of Defense Ben Wallace is sensational, especially considering that the British made a Brexit and left the European Union and thus not obliged to defend Sweden.

“Sweden is part of the same family, so we would help Sweden.

We would do everything we can, both militarily and in other ways, "said Wallace in connection with a meeting of defense ministers in Copenhagen on Friday.

The British Minister of Defense visits the Danish frigate Niels Juel in Copenhagen.

In the background Sweden's Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist.

Photo: TT March 4, 2022

The British, now officially stated military support for Sweden, probably means that Sweden's political leadership will not be in a hurry with a possible NATO application, despite the fact that public opinion is fluctuating, according to several surveys last week.

There are five main reasons:

1. The government is confident that Sweden can receive military support from Britain in the event of war.

It is probably an old agreement between Sweden and the United Kingdom, but now it has been officially announced.

2. Sweden is now cooperating almost fully with NATO without participating.

Sweden and Finland are now participating in all consultations on the war and the exchange of information has been further expanded.

It has been "expanded" so many times in recent years that no one is keeping track.

It is as close to a membership as you can get, according to most initiated assessors.

3. NATO and the United States do not benefit from Sweden joining.

NATO and the United States already have a formal agreement with Sweden on Host Nation Support.

The agreements facilitate whether Sweden needs to receive and provide military support in the event of a conflict in Sweden's immediate area.

Sweden does not want to provoke Russia further.

An application now would escalate the Russian threats against Sweden and Finland even more.

5. The government can stick to its previous line: Cooperate as much as possible without being a member and cooperate openly in the parts that may be open.

British strategic submarine HMS Vengeance returns to naval base Clyde in Scotland.

The submarine carries Trident ballistic nuclear robots.

Photo: Crown Copyright

Deterrent nuclear umbrella

A reasonable interpretation is that it is now also official that Sweden can be covered by the British deterrent nuclear umbrella.

The British have four strategic Trident submarines with ballistic robots, whose range is over 740 km.

The robots can be used against strategic targets such as military bases and large cities on other continents.

Most were surprised when Britain announced a year ago that it would raise its ceiling on the maximum number of nuclear weapons - from 180 to 260 warheads.

This means that they gave up their 30-year-old goal of reducing the number of nuclear weapons.

HMS Vanguard was the first of four British submarines to be armed with the Trident nuclear robot system in 1996. Photo: Crown Copyright

"Hultqvist's Doctrine"

The British nuclear armaments create a clear dilemma for the government.

On the one hand, increasingly extensive military cooperation with Britain, whose foundation is deterrent nuclear weapons.

On the other hand, Sweden has a stated goal of nuclear disarmament.

The great difference between the Cold War's cooperation with the nuclear powers Britain and the United States was that it took place in secret so as not to provoke the Soviet Union.

NATO cooperation is now largely open, in what could be described as Hultqvist's doctrine.

It remains to be seen what serves the nation Sweden best.

One thing is fairly certain - a possible application from Sweden to join NATO will take a long time.