Sweden intends to help NATO strengthen alliance's position in space

By Alimat Aliyeva

Sweden is going to help NATO with strengthening the alliance's potential in outer space, said Colonel Ella Karlsson, head of the space division at the General Staff of the Swedish Air Force, Azernews reports.

"We have been conducting space research in Sweden for several decades. We were asked what gaps we can fill for the alliance in the space sector," Defense news quoted her as saying.

"We can also use outer space together with our partners to detect, fix targets or threats and strike them," she explained.

She also recalled that in 2023, the Swedish military purchased SMART-L radars from Thales, which, according to manufacturers, can detect targets at a distance of up to 2 thousand km. Karlsson added that Sweden is cooperating with the Netherlands, which also purchased these radars, to study the use of such equipment.

Defense news notes that earlier in July, the Swedish government for the first time approved a strategy for defense and security in space. Also in 2022, the Swedish Air Force signed an agreement with the US Space Command on the exchange of information on the situation in outer space.

At the same time, the Esrange missile range is located in the Swedish Arctic. Previously, it was used to launch satellites for civilian purposes, but recently, Charlotte Sund, CEO of the Swedish Space Corporation, said that launches in the interests of the military could be conducted from here in the future.

Sweden joined NATO in March 2024.