Russian President Putin has successfully convinced a new nation to join NATO, with Sweden becoming the 32nd member of the alliance.
Sweden became NATO’s newest member on Thursday, upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the Government of the United States in Washington DC.
With Sweden’s accession, NATO now counts 32 countries among its members.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said:
“This is a historic day. Sweden will now take its rightful place at NATO’s table, with an equal say in shaping NATO policies and decisions. After over 200 years of non-alignment Sweden now enjoys the protection granted under Article 5, the ultimate guarantee of Allies’ freedom and security.
Sweden brings with it capable armed forces and a first-class defence industry. Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer and the whole Alliance more secure. Today’s accession demonstrates that NATO’s door remains open and that every nation has the right to choose its own path.”
Sweden’s flag will be raised alongside those of the other 31 Allies in a ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday (11 March 2024), and simultaneously at NATO commands across Europe and North America.
Good to have sweden on board all three of there Armed forces are very professional without counting there Reserves ,plus very good equipment .Putin really does know to make is forces under more pressure if it comes to fire works ,Hopfuly not .🇸🇪
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Fantastic to have all the Nordic country’s aboard. Norway was always a vulnerable flank. Now we have a united flank. And the Baltic.
I wonder how many of Norway’s F35As will be assigned to carry the B61-12?
How many F-35 does Norway have?
“According to the Lockheed Martin F-35 website, Norway has 52 F-35A Lightning II fighter jets on order, and has received a total of 33 as of September 21, 2023.”
The designation marks the first time that a stealth fighter can carry a nuclear weapon, in this case, the B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bomb.
“An Air Force spokesperson additionally told Breaking Defense that “the B61-12 is compatible with any DCA [dual-capable aircraft] certified F-35,” and that the fighter’s suite of upgrades collectively known as Block 4 are not a requirement to use the weapon.”
Courtesy Of Breaking Defense
https://
breakingdefense.com/2024/03/exclusive-f-35a-officially-certified-to-carry-nuclear-bomb/?utm_campaign=Breaking%20Defense%20Air%20&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=297419421&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–r0NDyPqYiIpve_MHnUQ63jVYxEKFw7QrIIMTbXY1vOk9rEPyVaNheT4odc5KEL4zCEsjYBPD0vttuT0q2YZKuOtU23A&utm_content=297419421&utm_source=hs_email
I’m disappointed that Mr. Stoltenberg made no mention of the NATO salesman of the century, who singlehandedly delivered both Finland and the erstwhile neutral Sweden to NATO.
Who?
The Master Strategist himself of course!
Darth Putin
Ah yes, silly me 😊
The big Nordic three bring a powerful presence to the Norhther flank..
The combined capabilities of Norway, Sweden and Finland represent a very capable deterrent, more than able to throw any Russian attack back in the North.
Finland and Sweden are fantastic new members..
Will Finland be sticking to the 60 fighters max that they agreed with the Soviet Union years ago I wonder?
I suppose if you are buying F35, few countries can afford that number anyway. I can’t help thinking they would have been better off with a much larger fleet of Gripen E.
Not sure Finland wants the Russians bringing the war to them again; I’d expect places like Polyarny and St Petersburg to get the good news if the Russians are so stupid and attack a NATO State.
Back in 2014 iirc, Finland said it would become involved if Russia attacked Estonia. F35 is just the platform.
Will you please STFU!
Treasury, MoD and Navy want rid of the assault ships and a smaller ROYAL and then you open your trap 😉
😂😂😉, you’re of course assuming most of the drones in Whitehall could find the Nordics on a map David, I’ve long reached the conclusion that most civil servants couldn’t find their own arse with both hands…..
Royal Navy will bat for the opposition with this one
Don’t forget the UK, a fundamental part of the NATO northern flank.
Absolutely, I think we actually have more in common and a deeper kinship, with our Nordic cousins, including Denmark of course, than the foreign minded folks further south…
That makes a lot of sense when you remember that for the past 2000 years the main influxes of Europeans were Germanic or Viking.
Where does Sweden border Russia exactly?
😀
the importance of this around the Baltic cannot be overstated, it simply turns the Baltic Sea into a place Russia cannot operate and essentially turns the Russia Baltic ports geographically at risk. It also means the 3 NATO Baltic states of Lithuanian, Latvia and Estonian now have two powerful NATO nations at their backs instead of two neutrals..that will make any Russian intervention around those three states or attempts to isolate them almost impossible….make no mistake Finland and Sweden joining NATO was a Geostrategic and geopolitical nightmare for Putin and a victory for NATO…but does this make NATO safer from a a war…no it just makes it more likely NATO would be able to savage any Russian incursion into the Baltic states…the risks around two nuclear powers in a shooting war in Europe still exists as do the risks around concerted effort from the anti western powers and a world war on many fronts….
Great news for NATO and, hopefully, a more stable and peaceful world.