Defending Swedish Territory today and in the Future - the Call for Quality and the Role of the Ground Forces

Summary of Anders Emanuelson's article in RSAWSPJ no 3 2001.

When trying to outline, for this annual study, the present and future roles of the Swedish Armed Forces, the following factors will be taken into account:

• The defence of our country is the basis for the existence of our Armed Forces.
• True professionalism is the linchpin of all combat.
• The quality of our personnel - both as regards officers and the individual soldier/conscript - is a key factor.
• Today we live in a period between wars - a period of unspecified length.
• Adaptability is the key word for all future military planning.
• Experience from service abroad within international organizations is paramount.

We must radically develop and change our Armed Forces to make them compatible with our strategic doctrine and our new organization. In so doing we must also make sure that these forces will be able to meet such challenges as are likely to come our way. In this new organization the educational role will be stressed as will, indeed, the absolute need for state-of-the-art equipment and weaponry for our ground forces.

Fully composite and integrated units will play a major part where new concepts are being tested and evaluated. A network-based command and control system will be set up.

Furthermore, there must be a balance between direct and indirect systems and the capability to intervene in urban areas must be guaranteed.

What today is considered as new concepts of warfare is, however, fully consistent with the transformation of an industrial society to an information society, something which truly creates unlimited possibilities - and threats.

Apart from the above listed points, the following trends in modern warfare can be distinguished: increased range and mobility, better intelligence, Dominant Battlespace Awareness with the aim of being able to interfere with the enemy’s decision-making process at both the strategic and the tactical level.

In addition, we may observe the following changes: the battlefield will be fragmented rather than lineal; the opening stages of war will be of a violent and rapid nature where the aim is to make the enemy’s system collapse as early as possible; manoeuvre warfare will to a large extent be replaced by neutralization and suppression; the use of advanced information technology will play a decisive role.

To meet these challenges we must among other things develop our overall capability by improving our command and control system, train our personnel at all levels, be able to engage an aggressor early, protect ourselves and our assembly areas as well as our own terrain.

This article is the annual study of the Army Section of The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences, presented on 13th March, 2001.