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Sweden and Nato

Last updated: 2 December 2025 at 10:32 AM

We defend Sweden and our allies and we reinforce NATO.

NATO’s purpose is to provide peace and security in all member countries through political and military means. Politically, by means of promoting democratic values and enabling consultation and cooperation among member countries. Militarily, through commitment to peaceful resolutions of disputes, or by crisis management operations. These efforts are made possible through Articles 3, 4 and 5 of NATO’s founding treaty.

Article 3 - Resilience

Each NATO member country needs to be resilient in order to withstand a major shock such as a natural disaster or a hybrid or armed attack. Resilience is the individual and collective capacity to prepare for, resist, respond to and quickly recover from shocks and disruptions, and to ensure the continuity of the Alliance’s activities. Civil preparedness is a central pillar of Allies’ resilience and a critical enabler for the Alliance’s collective defence. NATO supports member countries in assessing and enhancing their civil preparedness. Rooted in Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty, national and collective resilience are an essential basis for credible deterrence and defence, and are therefore vital to NATO’s efforts to safeguard its societies, populations and shared values.

Article 4 - Consensus

All NATO decisions are made by consensus, after discussion and consultation among member countries. Consultation between member states is therefore at the heart of NATO, since Allies are able to exchange views and information, and discuss issues prior to reaching agreement and taking action. Under Article 4 of NATO’s founding treaty, members can bring any issue of concern, especially related to the security of a member country, to the table for discussion within the North Atlantic Council.

Article 5 - Collective defence

The principle of collective defence, expressed in Article 5, is at the core of NATO’s founding treaty. It remains a unique and enduring principle that binds its members together, committing them to protect each other and setting a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance. 

Host Nation Support

As a NATO ally, Sweden will enhance its capacity to provide Host Nation Support for allied forces on Swedish territory. This requires close cooperation between civil society, regional government agencies and military forces. Joint efforts between these actors will enhance Sweden's as well as NATO's  deterrence and defence. 

Read more at www.nato.int 

Swedish contributions to deterrence and defence in 2026

As a reliable and solidary ally, Sweden is to participate in NATO's operations and activities for deterrence and defence. The Swedish contributions are planned to involve resources from all domains; land, sea and air and they should, if necessary, be adjustable in the short term.

FLF Latvia

A continued Swedish contribution to NATO's multinational brigade in Latvia is intended during 2026. The brigade is part of NATO's forward presence, Forward Land Forces (FLF Latvia).

In addition, there is an intention to reinforce NATO's standing naval forces, in order to maintain the Alliance's continuous naval presence and readiness to act swiftly, should the security situation deteriorate.

A Swedish contribution to NATO's integrated air and missile defence is also planned during 2026. The intention is to include air units with fighter aircraft to enhance NATO's Air Policing, e.g. surveillance of airspace and incident preparedness, as well as other activities within the scope of NATO's integrated air and missile defence. 

Contributions 2027-2029

FLF Finland

NATO's presence in the eastern states of the Alliance, bordering on Russia, is referrred to as Forward Land Forces, FLF. Decisions have been made to establish a new forward presence in Finland, Forward Land Forces Finland, to be led by Sweden.

JLSG HQ NW

A new logistics centre will be established in Enköping, to be operational by the end of 2027. The Joint Logistics Support Group Headquarters (JLSG HQ) will be part of the NATO command structure, with staffing coordinated centrally by NATO.

NATO Signal Battalion, NSB

Sweden and other Nordic allies will be part of NATO's northwestern operational area (JOA Northwest). A signal battalion will be established to enable command of military operations. Sweden is tasked with providing command and control systems. The  signal battalion is estimated to be operational in 2027 and to reach full operational capability in 2029.

 

 

  • As a member of Nato, Sweden is to actively take part in Nato’s deterrence activities. The concept of deterrence is that one actor persuades a would-be aggressor that an aggression would incur a cost, which would far outweigh any potential gain, material or political. By demonstrating presence, cohesion and capability, an aggressor is deterred from even thinking about attacking a Nato member state. For example, capability may be demonstrated by a joint flyover of a certain area. Nuclear weapons is the ultimate tool of Nato deterrence.

  • In accordance with Nato’s article 5, Sweden is to consider an armed attack on another Nato member state as an armed attack on Sweden. However, all member states must agree on invoking article 5 to activate the Nato defence. It is difficult to say exactly how and with what Sweden is to contribute as it depends on the situation and circumstances. But Sweden is obliged to support other member states and take all necessary measures, just as the other member states must assist Sweden.

  •   The risk of an armed attack remains low, but cannot be ruled out. Sweden has joined Nato because of the uncertain security situation in the world. Russia’s war in Ukraine is the primary reason for the decision. The Swedish Nato membership is a way to prevent what is now happening in Ukraine to happen in Sweden, but also to reinforce security in our region  

  • No. The assessment made by the parliament, government and the Swedish Armed Forces is that the risk of an armed attack will decrease with the Nato membership. Also, the risk of an armed attack against any other Nato member state decreases as Nato is even stronger with Sweden as an ally.

  • Yes. The Nato membership will see a major shift of Swedish defence and security policy. Sweden goes from a close partnership to having 31 allies instead. This means that Sweden and the Swedish Armed Forces will be part of Nato’s collective deterrence and defence. The defence of Sweden will remain the primary task of the Swedish Armed Forces, but also that the defence of Sweden is now part of a larger context.

  •   Some 200-250 positions are to be manned over a period of seven years. Primarily various types of staff positions – specialists and generalists – in the Nato command structure. Sweden will staff the positions with military and civil personnel.  

Facts about NATO

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an alliance of 32 states in Europe and North America whose purpose is to ensure peace and security for its member states through political and military means.

NATO members are committed to Article 5 of the treaty, the collective defence clause, which stipulates that an armed attack against one member state shall be considered an attack against them all. Consequently, a member state that is attacked shall be assisted by the other members.

NATO’s member countries today are: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Sweden has long maintained extensive cooperation with NATO and was, prior to joining, described as one of its most important and active partners. Since 1994, Sweden has participated in the Partnership for Peace (PfP) cooperation framework and, within this framework, has taken part in both training and exercises. Swedish military forces have also contributed to several NATO-led missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Libya.