There has been a lot of talk about how NATO can protect Sweden if we join the defense alliance, but Sweden would also contribute to NATO in several places, according to the experts SVT spoke to.
- We have a number of strong cards, not least the air force.
It would have been natural for Sweden to contribute to "NATO air policing", ie air surveillance, says Ann-Sofie Dahl, who is a NATO advocate, associate professor of international politics and affiliated with the Atlantic Council think tank.
She believes that in the event of membership, Swedish soldiers may be part of the international NATO troops stationed in the Baltic states.
In a scenario where the Baltics are threatened, Swedish territory could be used to fly in air forces and ship traffic could pass through the Baltic Sea.
It would simply be easier for troops from, for example, Norway and Denmark to come to the rescue in the event of an attack on the Baltic states.
Submarines and monkeys great access
Magnus Christiansson believes that Sweden's air force is seen as modern and relevant and would improve the ability to signal reconnaissance for NATO.
This is partly about the JAS Gripen but also about other signal reconnaissance planes.
In addition, the air force is agile and could be shown to the outside world.
In addition to the air force, Swedish submarines are also seen as a great asset for NATO.
- They are of the highest world class and difficult to find.
If they are in place, it will be difficult for Russia to move in the Baltic Sea.
Swedish naval forces worse
As far as the navy is concerned, however, the Swedish forces are worse.
Magnus Christiansson states that the Armed Forces' corvettes do not have a good air defense and traces that they may be placed on the west coast to protect the port of Gothenburg.
At the same time, the US military is wary of entering the Baltic Sea with large warships.
The former US military attaché has likened it to "a knife fight in a telephone booth" and found that it is easy to knock out large ships in the Baltic Sea.
"The cause of the Baltics becomes our cause"
If Sweden and Finland join the NATO defense alliance, the Baltic Sea will in practice become a NATO inland sea where all countries around the Baltic Sea except Russia are NATO members.
For NATO, it would be easier for both reconnaissance and transport, and those who would benefit most from the new members are the Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
- The cause of the Baltics will be Sweden's cause right from the start.
Today there is a question mark over what would happen if the Baltic states were attacked.
That question mark would be straightened out.
It would be a big concrete change, says Magnus Christiansson, senior lecturer in military science at the Swedish National Defense College.