Sweden will hold its biggest military exercise in 34 years

Sweden continues its efforts to strengthen its military capacity through initiatives such as NATO membership application and increasing defense expenditures. In this context, Sweden will hold its largest military exercise since 1989 on April 24. Approximately 26 thousand soldiers will take part in the exercise called «Aurora 23», in which the USA, England, Finland, Poland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Denmark, Austria, Germany and France also participate.

«The purpose of Aurora 23 is to increase the combined operational capacity of the army against an armed attack against Sweden and to contribute to the stability of the region,» said Lieutenant Colonel Henrik Larsson of the Swedish Army.

Soldiers participating in the exercise, which will be held in the air, on land and at sea, will be trained to increase Sweden’s military readiness capacity in the face of any attack or large-scale land, air and sea maneuvers. During the exercise, in which logistics-related activities will also be carried out, cooperation between civil and military institutions will be tested and a joint operation will be focused in case of an attack on the country.

Sweden, which has taken steps to strengthen its military readiness capacity in recent years, decided to increase its defense expenditures to 2 percent of the gross domestic product in April 2022 due to the Ukraine war. Sweden had also deployed troops on the previously demilitarized Baltic Sea island of Gotland and decided to reintroduce conscription.

The military exercise, which will last for about three weeks, will end on 11 May.