Air Defence in Northern Europe

THE CURRENT SITUATION AND FUTURE EXPECTATIONS Sweden The peace-time deployment of the Flygvapnet for the year 1997 was as follows:31,43(You can update your information to the current situation at: FÖRBAND- CENTRA- SKOLOR - FÖRSVARSMAKTEN) F 4, Östersund: - 2 JA 37 divisions F 7, Såtenäs - 1 JAS division - 1 AJS 37 division - transport division F 10, Ängelholm: - 1 AJS 37 division - 1 J 35 division - SK-60, basic flying training - Ground Schools; technical, base F 16, Uppsala: - 2 JA 37 divisions F 17, Ronneby: - 2 JA 37 divisions F 21, Kallax: - 1 AJS 37 division - 2 JA 37 divisions Uppsala Schools; officers, air surveillance and control, interpreters, signals, meteorology The force has about 110 attack and reconnaissance aircraft, about 190 fighters, and about 70 SK 60 Saab 105 trainers. The peacetime personnel is about 8500 and the wartime strength about 70,000. In addition to the air force organization, there is a formidable air force department in the Defence Materials Establishment (FMV). The long-range radar equipment of the air surveillance system was renewed in the 1980s, incorporating modern 3D technology, and renewal of the short-range radar systems is now in progress. The old tower-installed radar scanners from the 1960s will be replaced with new Falcon systems. The optical air surveillance system was written off on 1st July 1994, and will obviously be phased out according to the pace of the material rejection. It has been partly replaced by the LOMOS system, which based on equipment acquired during a crisis, has been developed to reach the operational stage within a couple of years.37,38 The new system reduces the optical air surveillance personnel from some 15,000 to under 6,000. An air surveillance and control aircraft, the Saab 340 AEW/ FRS 890 or S 100B Argus, has been under test since July 1994, and six are to be purchased. The fleet is expected to be operative in four or five years. The plane will carry only pilots and sometimes a technical operator, but most of the operators will work on the ground via a data link system. The antenna is installed to cover both sides of the aircraft by means of an electronically phase-arrayed technology.43 The oldest Drakens and Viggens will be phased out before the turn of the century, but a certain number of Viggens are being modified as AJS 37 multi-role fighters, to be replaced later with JAS aircraft. Surveys aimed at replacing the Viggen fighters began in the 1970s, and when the B3LA project was abandoned in 1979, the idea of a multi-role fighter capable of flying fighter, attack and reconnaissance missions was officially included in the plans. The possible alternatives were:39 purchase of a foreign fighter construction of a foreign fighter in Sweden under license construction of a fighter in cooperation with one or more foreign manufacturers construction of a Swedish fighter, but with a larger proportion of foreign systems than previously to keep down the cost The recommendation of the defence committee was to build the Swedish JAS (Jakt, Attack, Spaning) Gripen aircraft to replace the Viggens in the early 1990s and to produce 140 of these before the year 2000. Parliament approved the proposal in 1982 and an agreement was signed between FMV and the JAS Industry Group on 30th June 1982. The first production batch of 30 aircraft was ordered in April 1983 and the first prototype was unveiled on 11th February 1986. The recommendation regarding foreign systems led to incorporation of the following:40 Flight control system, product series 1, Lear Astronics, USA Flight control system, product series 2, Martin Marietta, USA Basic engine F404, General Electric, USA Air conditioning control, Hymatic Engineering,UK Landing gear, AP Precision Hydraulics,UK APU and engine start aggregator, Microturbo, France Emergency power and transfer, Lucas Aerospace, UK Inertia navigation, Honeywell, USA Cannon, Mauser-Werke, Germany Ejection seat, Martin Baker, UK Main generator, Sundstrand, USA Hydraulic system and transfer, Dowty, UK Brakes, Aircraft Breaking Systems, USA Fuel system, Intertechnique, France The first flight was on 9th December 1988, but the prototype was destroyed in a landing accident on 2nd February 1989 on account of shortcomings in the flight control system. Test flights started again in May 1990, and the second batch of 110 aircraft was ordered in June 1992. The first production aircraft, JAS 39.102, was delivered on 8th June 1993, but this crashed at an air show on 8th August in the same year, again due to shortcomings in the flight control system. Test flights were continued on 29th December 1993 and the next production delivery to FMV took place in March of 1995. The current production program is planned to be completed in 2002. As noted above, the first Viggens to be replaced by the JAS 39A Gripen are those of the attack type, whereas the last Viggen fighters are expected to been withdrawn in 2010.40 The weaponry of the JAS (two wing-tip positions for IR missiles plus four under-wing and two under-fuselage strong points) consists of:40 Fixed 27 mm Mauser cannon Two Sidewinder AIM-9L infra-red missiles Maverick Rb 75 air-to-ground missiles Bofors M70 rocket pods Rb 15F anti-ship missiles DWS 39 Dispenser Weapon System Active radar missiles The evaluation for active air-to-air radar missiles was carried out between the following candidates: AMRAAM AIM-120, USA MICA, France Active Sky Flash, UK The decision to buy a small number of the American AMRAAM AIM-120 active radar missiles in order to continue development of the JAS fighter version was made in 1994. The traditional objective of the post-war Flygvapnet has been to push the defensive circle beyond the country’s boundaries by virtue of quantity and a fairly high proportion of attack aircraft. During the years of decreasing resources, when the number of the aircraft was reduced to about 30% of the figures for 1945 and the number of personnel to about 50%, the percentage of fighters increased. Eventually the dedicated attack wing was abolished on 1st July 1996. It is envisage that a new multi-purpose aircraft will allow continued flexible variation of the proportions of the various mission categories. The yearly intake of trainee pilots has also been reduced, the earlier figures of 100-150 having been adjusted to the smaller number of units. After the phases of basic and advanced training, there are type introduction courses and then separate training for fighter, attack and reconnaissance pilots in their respective mission areas. After the introduction of the JAS system every pilot will divide his flight hours among these three mission categories. The modernized Hawk Rb 77 anti-aircraft missile battalion has been in the use since the 1970s and was modified in 1994 by addition of a mobile launcher system. Its main mission is to protect the capital city. The army units have their own organic anti-aircraft systems, the main weapon being the RBS-70 anti-aircraft missile. A modified system, the RBS-90, based on laser guidance, was introduced in 1991. It is highly jam resistant and its only shortcoming is that it is not capable of all-weather operation. There are over 100 RBS units in existence, and in addition to the army units, it is used to protect air bases and other important targets. Many of the automatic anti-aircraft artillery batteries are equipped with radar-guided 40 mm guns. The Super-Fledermaus fire control systems are in the process of being replaced by PEAB radar systems. In addition, there are antiaircraft machine guns and 20 mm cannons for use as short-range troop anti-aircraft weapons.l8 The anti-aircraft fire control system is integrated into the national air defence control system Stril-90. The basic structure of the anti-aircraft defence’s own target acquisition radar system is derived from various versions of the Ericsson Giraffe.l8 A major change in the organization of the defence forces was made in Sweden on 1st July 1994, in which the earlier independent branch commanders and staffs were combined into one headquarters to form the production administration departments. The country is divided into three military regions, North, Central and South, and the combat flying units are subordinate to the military commands of these regions. National operational responsibility lies with the operations department at headquarters, and aerial responsibility with the area commanders.42 The future prospects of Sweden’s air defence are very much oriented towards the renewal of its combat aircraft system. The JAS system is planned to be ready in 2006, a new infra-red air-to-air missile is to be acquired during the development phase and a reconnaissance pod for the JAS 39 Gripen should be ready by the year 2001.40 The changeover from AJS 37 Viggens and J 35 Drakens to JAS 39 Gripens is scheduled to take place in 1997-2001, and the change from the Viggen JA-37 fighters to the JAS planes is scheduled to begin in 2001. The light attack system SK 60 has been canceled, but the material will be stored and kept at the ready.43 The SK 60 Saab 105 trainers will be fitted with new engines, and the S 102B Korpen signal surveillance system will be operative in 1998.43 Development of the ground control system will be continued, but the original planned number of ten StriC control centers will be reduced to five. The flying air surveillance and control system FSR 890, two groups of three S 100 Argus aircraft, is planned to be ready by the turn of the century.43 The contemporary reductions, already taken into account in the organization list, are F 15 at Söderhamn, the target squadron in Malmen, the F 5 flying school at Ljungbyhed and the Halmstad schools.43 There is an estimation that 4 or 5 wings (flottilj) would be the final number.47 The next development phase in terms of anti-aircraft defence will be the Bamse Rb 23 anti-aircraft missile, obviously a boosted version of the RBS 90 system, with an increased range.43,18 Back to the TABLE OF CONTENTS Home

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