Sweden's armed forces to grow to 115,000 by 2030, government says

PHOTO CAPTION: A Swedish Special Forces Command member participates in a live fire exercise during Exercise Emerald Warrior Spiral at the Eglin Range, Florida, April 11, 2024. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Ty Pilgrim via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden will bolster the size of its armed forces by some 27,000 men and women by 2030 to around 115,000 people, including professional soldiers and conscripts, as the country ramps up defence spending, the government said on Tuesday.

The centre-right coalition last month said it would spend an additional 170 billion Swedish crowns ($16.41 billion) on top the normal annual budget over the coming five years, taking defence spending to 2.6% of GDP in 2028, up from 2.2% this year.

Defence Minister Pal Jonson said the bill would help build better endurance, and that it needed to happen quickly for NATO's newest member.

"We must be able to respond more strongly and effectively to the changes taking place in our surrounding world, above all Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine," he told a news conference.

The government said in September it would hike defence spending by 10% to 138 billion crowns next year, equal to 2.4% of GDP.

The Navy will have its five Visby class corvettes upgraded and fitted with air defence systems, and will also start the procurement of three bigger Lulea Class corvettes.

The Air Force will get three more Globaleye surveillance planes and newer version of the JAS Gripen fighter jets, as well as Black Hawk helicopters.

The Army will add more tanks and armoured vehicles, more drones and additional Archer air-defence systems, the government said.

($1 = 10.3623 Swedish crowns)



(Reporting by Johan Ahlander, editing by Terje Solsvik)