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European countries need to strengthen their defence ties in Nato without the US and invest more in their own military capabilities in areas such as space and satellites, Sweden’s defence minister has said.
Pål Jonson told the Financial Times that Sweden had a strong defence industrial collaboration with the US amid an intense debate in Europe about whether the continent is too dependent for military solutions on an ally that is suddenly withdrawing support from Ukraine.
“There are some autonomous capabilities that we have developed,” he said, mentioning the Kiruna rocket base in northern Sweden and the launch of the country’s first military satellite in August. “That is something that is helpful as well.”
Sweden has one of the largest defence industries relative to the size of its population of any country, belying its status until recently of a neutral nation. The country joined Nato last year, as a consequence of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has stepped up its military spending, reaching 2.2 per cent of GDP in 2024, above the alliance’s target of 2 per cent.
“One of the lessons learned from this war in Ukraine is that having a strong defence industrial base is part of credible deterrence,” said Jonson.
Saab, its main defence company which is controlled by the Wallenberg family of industrialists, may only be the eighth-largest such group in Europe but is unusual for producing fighter jets, submarines and other weapons. Sweden’s Gripen fighter jet, its GlobalEye surveillance aeroplane and the Blekinge submarines all come from Saab.
Jonson added that many of the Swedish platforms delivered to Ukraine were well suited to it as they were easy to operate, adapted to use by conscripts, and were designed to confront Russian weapons.
“We got a lot of intelligence back for the platforms that we’ve sent to make them even more agile. Having a strong defence industrial base is a core interest for Sweden,” the defence minister added.
Sweden is in competition with neighbouring Norway to start up a space industry in the far north of the country and has established a base in the mining town of Kiruna. Its first military satellite was launched last year but from a space port in California.
Jonson called the defence co-operation with the US “a two-way street” and said that Sweden wanted to continue co-operating with America.
But he backed calls to develop a so-called European pillar inside Nato.
“If there is a will there is a way to make sure that we have a stronger European pillar inside Nato, but it’s also going to require tough priorities,” he said, adding that European countries needed to lift defence spending significantly above 2 per cent of GDP. Trump has said the alliance needed to reach 5 per cent of GDP.
Jonson deflected criticism that Sweden was too dependent on the US for its security by signing a bilateral defence agreement as well as joining Nato.
“Sweden is safer now than it was a year ago when we joined the alliance because now we are covered by article 5 [Nato’s collective defence pledge] and we are also integrated into Nato’s defence planning,” he said.
But he added: “It’s very possible that posture review of the US presence in Europe could lead to less a lesser US footprint. But we assumed that that could be the case even before the [presidential] elections, since they’re facing a threat in the Indo-Pacific and particularly in reference to China.”
