BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 27. The Swedish Armed Forces are gearing up for their next deployment to Latvia, with troops currently honing their skills and joining forces at the Revingehed training ground, Trend reports.
This unit, which keeps its nose to the grindstone as a reduced
maneuver battalion, will be bolstered with a fresh capability—air
defense units armed with anti-aircraft gun combat vehicles.
The introduction of these systems is set to bolster the battalion’s
knack for spotting and taking down aerial threats—be it drones or
helicopters—right where the rubber meets the road. This enhancement
is a game changer, paving the way for a leap in bolstering both
Sweden’s and NATO’s collective defense capabilities in the Baltic
region.
In October, the crews operating the anti-aircraft gun vehicles carried out intensive combat training at Revingehed, working alongside “Helicopter 15” units from the Swedish Helicopter Wing. A civilian helicopter also participated in the exercises, ensuring a realistic and diverse training environment.
The new air defense combat vehicle is cut from the same cloth as the infantry fighting vehicle Stridsfordon 90, but it comes with a few extra bells and whistles, including a surveillance and reconnaissance radar system and a higher gun elevation angle, which lets it take aim at low-altitude aerial targets with precision.
In alignment with strategic directives from the Swedish Armed Forces, a battalion from the Swedish Army—augmented by a contingent of air defense combat vehicle units—will be operationally deployed to Latvia in the forthcoming year. This phase will enhance NATO’s synergistic defense posture and augment the alliance’s operational capabilities along the critical eastern theater of engagement.
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