Rocket launched from Esrange. Photo: Esrange
Sweden joins NATO’s space alliance
Even though Sweden is currently stopped from joining the defense alliance NATO after Turkey's obstruction, Sweden has nevertheless continued to tie itself politically and militarily to NATO. Sweden has now joined the space defense alliance APSS, which is run by NATO – a sign that NATO sees Sweden's entry into the alliance as a given.
Published: February 18, 2023, 7:00 am
It was on Wednesday, during NATO’s ongoing defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels, where Sweden, despite not being an official member, had nevertheless been granted access to the organisation. Sweden chose to join the space defense alliance APSS (Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space). The space defense alliance is run by NATO and only NATO members – and now Sweden and Finland – may join the alliance.
Spy balloons?
According to the defense alliance, the cooperation project should contribute to better communications, expanded navigation possibilities and a better ability to detect enemy missiles, but spy balloons were also mentioned by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a press meeting on Monday before the ministerial meeting that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“This project is also a good example of civil-military cooperation, providing a powerful access to our intelligence toolbox,” NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said during a press briefing ahead of the meeting.
But Sweden’s role has become more than just nominal, and downright necessary because they are the only country in Europe with the capacity to send satellites into space.
Surveillance operations from space
Another goal is that the member countries of APSS will aim at supporting ongoing operations in a faster way by sharing space intelligence from the participating countries’ military space sensors. Civilian and commercial satellite sensors will also be able to be included in the project.
“This is an initiative to merge and collaborate around space imagery, that is, information from space, and it can be used both to identify different types of natural disasters, but it can also be used for defense intelligence and to follow situational images on the ground. What can be ascertained from the war in Ukraine is that sensors and space location data are very important for the modern battlefield and it feels good that Sweden is now entering into this cooperation,” said Defense Minister Pål Jonson (Moderate Party), on the phone from Brussels to Swedish daily Aftonbladet.
The participants in the APSS project are initially, according to NATO’s press department, Sweden and Finland as well as the NATO countries Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Great Britain and the United States.
Sweden’s role is important in the space alliance because of Esrange
Sweden will also have a prominent role in the cooperation because Sweden and Norway are the only two countries in Europe that currently have the capacity to launch rockets. Sweden’s Esrange and planned rocket base in Kiruna mean that they have by far the largest capacity in the matter. Sweden is the only nation in Europe that can launch satellites into orbit without, for example, like France, using bases at the equator.
The APSS meeting with NATO’s defense ministers and Finland and Sweden as invited parties. Photo: NATO
Pål Jonson hoped that the new NATO cooperation would lead to more launches from Swedish soil, he told Aftonbladet.
“We work hard on that ability. Investments have been made at Esrange and the government invited the EU Commission there in connection with the inauguration where that dimension was included. This will create better conditions for Sweden to cooperate with NATO allies in the space area.”
The decision to join the space alliance and that Sweden is allowed as a member gives a clear indication of how the Swedish government, but also NATO, reason about Sweden’s future role as a NATO member. It is clearly seen as inevitable, even if Turkey is currently preventing its membership, and Sweden is still being prepared for a place in the defense alliance. Becoming part of a sub-alliance is a clear step towards that goal.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
Europe
New App Helps Locate Sweden’s Historic Runestones
A new app called Swedish Runestones will help locate historical gems.
Swedish military wants to remilitarize the Åland Islands
The demilitarized autonomy has previously been known as 'the islands of peace.
NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s
CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.
European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections
EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.
Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough
Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.
Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter
The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.
The Sun Drives Earth’s Climate, Not Carbon Dioxide
Top Researchers Push Back Against Climate Lies."The correlation is as clear as day," explained the Israeli astrophysicist Nir Shaviv, who was hailed by the establishment, before his interview with Forbes was hastily deleted. What he says contradicts the climate narrative, which points to humans as responsible for Earth's climate. Shaviv firmly asserts that it is the sun that controls the climate, something that can be scientifically proven in many ways. Contrary to the popular belief, the sun's influence on Earth has, in recent years, caused unusually cold and rainy weather, a trend that solar researchers warn will worsen significantly in the coming decades. The sun has exhibited an unusually low activity since 2016, during Solar Cycle 24, which was the weakest in a century.
Strong Confidence in German AfD
Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.
The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy
The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."
Dutch FvD break through the media blockade
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.
No comments.
By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.