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49-621: In 1978 Sweden bought the rights to Skyflash, known as Rb 71 in Flygvapnet service, from BAe. Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) subsequently began an independent development of Skyflash with a new active seeker, with BAe acting as a sub-contractor to Sweden's Saab Dynamics. In 1984 the FMV began renewed studies of their active seeker design, the Rb 71A, or Sky Flash 90, and the all-new wingless ramjet-powered Rb 73. A Memorandum of Understanding

98-512: A base after an airstrike on it kortbanor ("short runways" or "short strips") were built as backup runways in the vicinity of the airfield. Typically 2-3 kortbanor were built per base. Similar to the road runways in the Bas 60 system these runways were often built on public roads . A kortbana differed in dimensions from a Bas 60 road runway though; a kortbana was 800 metres (2,600 ft) in length and 17 metres (56 ft) in width, compared to

147-777: A farmhouse and killed 7 people. In the 1970s the death toll was reduced to 6–7 per year. In subsequent years, it continued to fall and from 1996 onwards, no fatal accident has been recorded. The Swedish Air Force has been involved in three wars, the Finno-Soviet Winter War in 1939–40, in which volunteers took part, the Congo Crisis , 1961–64, and in the 2011 Libyan civil war . When the Soviet Union attacked Finland in November 1939, Sweden came to its neighbour's assistance but eventually decided not to join

196-589: A separate air wing, F 22 , equipped with a dozen Saab 29 Tunnans , which performed well under the rough conditions in central Africa. The secessionist adversaries possessed only a small number of aircraft with poor combat capabilities, e.g. Fouga Magister trainers. With the end of the Cold War the Swedish Armed Forces underwent a massive restructuring process. During this time, several air bases were deemed unnecessary and closed with fighters like

245-701: The Air Staff purchased the best it could find from abroad, e.g. P-51 D Mustangs, De Havilland Mosquito NF.19 night fighters and de Havilland Vampires , and supported the development of top performance domestic models. The Saab 29 Tunnan jet fighter was introduced around 1950. In the late 1950s the Swedish Air Force introduced the Bas 60 air base system, which revolved around force dispersal of air squadrons across many wartime air bases in case of war in order to make it complicated for an opponent to destroy

294-553: The Grob G 120TP as its new Basic Trainer Aircraft, designated SK 40. 10 aircraft have been ordered and delivered but due to work environment problems caused by high workload the implementation of the new planes have been put on hold temporarily. Sweden will procure the Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform to replace its two S100D/ASC890. The Swedish Armed Forces submitted an official request to

343-808: The Israeli Air Force destroyed most of the Egyptian Air Force on the ground during its opening stages in Operation Focus , served both as validation for the Swedish dispersion concept and as reason to develop the system further. Another reason to improve the system was the introduction of long range attack aircraft (primarily the Su-24 ) and cluster munitions and anti-runway bombs , which made air bases more vulnerable to conventional bombing . Bas 60 had primarily been designed around

392-586: The Saab 37 Viggen retired prematurely. In 1994 the air force had over 400 fighters, by 2005 the number had sunk to fewer than 150. On 29 March 2011, the Swedish prime minister announced that eight Saab JAS 39 Gripens would support the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya. The announcement responded to a NATO request for assistance. The Swedish fighters were limited to supporting the no-fly zone and were not authorized to engage in ground attack sorties. The deployment

441-508: The Swedish Armed Forces . The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded from four to seven squadrons. When World War II broke out in 1939 further expansion was initiated and this substantial expansion was not finished until

490-560: The Swedish Army (" Arméflyget ") and the Swedish Navy (" Marinflyget ") have been merged with the helicopter units of the Air Force to form the single Helicopter Wing ( Hkpflj ) for the entire Armed Forces. The wing has been placed under the authority of the Air Force and consists of: The air transport units perform airlift operations, and are used in both national and in international missions. The unit also organizes

539-406: The Swedish Army . The Bas 90 project slowed down with the end of the cold war, and was halted by the mid 1990s. The system was completely scrapped in the 2000s and many of the wartime air bases have been demilitarized and sold to civilian owners. About 20 bases had been expanded to Bas 90 standard to varying degrees when the project was halted. However, with the international developments during

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588-458: The forward air control airborne mission profile for better air-ground coordination. In the same year, 60 further modified E class Gripens were ordered with the first plane to join the Air force in 2018. At RIAT 2022, the commander of the Swedish Air Force stated that the air force in the future (2030) will consist of 60 Jas 39C/D and 60 Jas 39E in a total of 7 fighter squadrons. In November 2022,

637-476: The 1950s, about 21 pilots were killed annually. In the 1960s the average number of killed were 13 per year, which meant Sweden had sixfold mortality rate per 100,000 flight hours compared to the United States. In the 1960s flight safety started to become a consideration, not due to the death toll but because the aircraft were getting increasingly expensive. In October 1960, a Lansen fighter crashed into

686-543: The 1950s, it introduced fighters such as the Saab J 29 Tunnan , Saab A 32 Lansen and Saab J 35 Draken . In June 1952 the Swedish Air Force lost two aircraft on Cold War operations, in what became known as the Catalina affair . A signals intelligence Douglas DC-3 was intercepted by Soviet MiG-15s over the Baltic, and shot down with the loss of three aircrew and five civilian technicians. A PBY Catalina rescue seaplane

735-667: The A version. The heavily modernised E version will replace the current fleet of Gripen Cs. The new aircraft includes a new Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, and is powered by the General Electric F414 G. It carries more fuel and weapons. The upgrade also includes new weapon systems like the Meteor missile system . In 2013, Saab signed an agreement with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration for 60 new Gripen in

784-408: The Bas 60 system and selected civilian airports. The air bases became organized into flygbasgrupper (air base groups). One air base group consisted of a main base (built or planned to be built to Bas 90 standard) and a number of alternative and reserve bases. During peace time the air squadrons were stationed at their respective air wing and deployment to the wartime air bases would only occur when

833-435: The E version. The first aircraft is to join the Swedish Air Force by 2018. JAS 39C is expected to remain in service until 2030. The Swedish C-130 Hercules (TP 84) were bought from the United States in the 1960s and has been updated several times. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration has been tasked to update the aircraft so they can remain in service to 2030. There are also plans to buy new aircraft by 2024 to replace

882-679: The Strategic Defence Plan was published in which it was announced that all NH90 helicopters will be phased out and replaced, additional Sikorsky Black Hawks will be ordered for the tactical transport role, a new medium sized helicopter for the ASW/ASuW role will be selected. Today the Swedish Air Force main fighter is the Saab JAS 39 Gripen , in the C/D versions. By 2018 95 fighters were active with about 30 of these being updated from

931-522: The Swedish part of the Heavy Airlift Wing in Hungary . Signals reconnaissance units conduct electronic combat reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. The Swedish Air Force is being adapted to new future tasks. Today about 80 Gripen C/D fighters remain in service. Some orders have been made and 60 new Jas 39 Gripen E units will join the air force in the coming years. Saab has also joined

980-437: The air base functions within the individual bases themselves. The air units would have been dispersed so one squadron (8–12 aircraft) would be stationed per krigsflygbas . The system was a protective measure against nuclear weapons and airstrikes , to make it complicated for an opponent to destroy the Swedish Air Force on the ground and thus ensure endurance for the air force in a conflict scenario. The Six-Day War , where

1029-526: The air force on the ground. Road runways were also introduced as backup runways. Bas 60 was developed further into Bas 90 during the 1970s and 1980s. During the Cold War large amounts of money (including funds intended for the Swedish nuclear weapons programme) were spent on the Swedish Air Force and domestic aircraft production. In 1957 Sweden had the world's fourth most powerful air force, with about 1,000 modern planes in front-line service. During

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1078-460: The base infrastructure. This meant that a Bas 90 base had several kilometers of taxiways in total. Usage of the short runways was limited in adverse light and weather conditions and would primarily be used if the main runway was not available. The short runways were designated Bertil ( B ), Cesar ( C ), David ( D ), and so on in accordance with the Swedish phonetic alphabet. The designations were assigned from north to south. Compared to Bas 60,

1127-535: The bases many and spread out flight line positions, carrying the necessary aircraft munition, fuel, tools and other equipment in their vehicles and on trailers. This capability was called rörlig klargöring (mobile turnaround). The groundcrew units would have their staging areas spread out and located away from the base infrastructure as a safety measure, and then deploy from there as ordered. One group of groundcrew ( klargöringstropp ) consisted of 15 men, with 6 vehicles of different kinds and 4 trailers. A klargöringstropp

1176-430: The current fleet. As part of the Heavy Airlift Wing cooperation, Sweden also operates three Boeing C-17 which are located at Pápa Air Base in Hungary . Sweden used the Saab 105 as the primary jet-trainer until phase out per June 2024. About 40 planes were operational. Designed in the 1960s the aircraft is starting to show its age and were gradually phased out from active service. The Swedish Air Force has selected

1225-545: The emerging requirement to arm the RAF's Eurofighters. As Eurofighter became the driver behind the missile's development, BAe took charge of the programme. ASF was terminated in 1992 to be replaced by a new wingless concept known as S225X, the name deriving from the internal postal code of the BAe project manager's office at Stevenage. S225X was first unveiled at the 1992 Farnborough Air Show. GEC-Marconi Dynamics and Alenia Difesa joined

1274-400: The end of the war. Although Sweden never entered the war, a large air force was considered necessary to ward off the threat of invasion and to resist pressure through military threats from the great powers . By 1945 the Swedish Air Force had over 800 combat-ready aircraft, including 15 fighter divisions. A major problem for the Swedish Air Force during World War II was the lack of fuel. Sweden

1323-434: The flight line operations on a base over time. An aircraft landing on a base would be met by a motorcycle unit that then marshaled the aircraft to its hardstand, where the groundcrew would be waiting. The hardstands could be concealed with camouflage nets and decoy aircraft were used to counter enemy aerial reconnaissance . Aircraft on stand-by at a hardstand would be connected to the bases communication net in order for

1372-402: The flight line positions in a Bas 90 base were dispersed even further. Individual aircraft spaces ( hardstands ) were spread out along the taxiways across the entire area of the base, separated by up to 500 metres (1,600 ft). 20-40 individual aircraft hardstands were built on a base, which was more than the number of aircraft that would be stationed there. This was to allow for moving around

1421-583: The government to buy the Saab GlobalEye platform on October 1, 2021. On October 24, 2021 the Swedish government approved the purchase to replace its old S100D/ASC890. On 30 June 2022 SAAB and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) signed a contract for the acquisition of 2 GlobalEye aircraft, to be designated S 106 in Swedish service. The deal is valued at 7,3 billion SEK (US$ 710 million) and deliveries

1470-547: The new RB-68 Bloodhound systems in 2 squadrons until 1974. These Swedish units also operated the RB-68 missile system (1 squadron each): In the Cold War era, more than 600 Swedish fighter pilots were killed in crashes during peacetime exercises and training in the 1945–1991 period. In the 1950s–60s era the flight training curriculum was deficient and the training regimes were too risky and some aircraft types had design flaws. In

1519-607: The older road runways which were 1,500–2,000 metres (4,900–6,600 ft) in length and 12 metres (39 ft) in width. Using shorter runways was made possible by the STOL capability of the Viggen (and later the Gripen ). Also unlike the Bas 60 road runways the new short runways were built in direct vicinity and directly connected to the main airfield and each other via taxiways , which often also were sections of public road integrated into

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1568-400: The pilot to communicate directly with the base command and air defense central and also receive mission orders. The Kommandocentral (KC) , Command Centre, from Bas 60 was kept, but expanded to be manned by 10 people instead of 6-8. The KC was located in an underground bunker and was the place from where the air traffic operations on the base were led and organized. A new addition in Bas 90

1617-462: The primarily French project for the unmanned future stealth plane Dassault nEUROn . In 2008 and 2010, the Swedish armed forces wanted to retire even more fighters and close air bases to relocate money to other branches. However, because of negative response from the public and pressure from the Swedish government, no cuts happened as of 2011. In 2013, the USMC introduced Swedish helicopter units to

1666-520: The programme in 1993. In 1994 a ramjet powered version, known as S225XR, was proposed in response to the UK requirement for a future medium-range air-to-air missile for Eurofighter. This team became part of the European group which eventually won the competition with Meteor . Flygvapnet The Swedish Air Force ( Swedish : Svenska flygvapnet or just Flygvapnet ) is the air force branch of

1715-438: The threat level increased. But many of the air wings also doubled as wartime air bases and thus some air wings were also built to Bas 90 standard. The wartime air bases were only manned by a smaller bastropp (base troop ) during peace time and the full base battalion would only be manned with a mobilization (except during certain exercises). This was because the majority of the units were made up by conscripts . The base system

1764-516: The threat of nuclear weapons. The development of Bas 90 began in the 1970s and started being implemented in the 1980s. The main improvements in Bas 90 compared to Bas 60 was the addition of backup runways in direct vicinity to the main airfield, a more mobile groundcrew and improved communication technology. The goal was to have a total of about 200 runways of different types available for military use across Sweden. This included bases that would not be upgraded to Bas 90 standard, road runways from

1813-469: The war. A Swedish volunteer infantry brigade and a volunteer air squadron fought in northern Finland from January to March 1940. The squadron was designated F 19 and consisted of 12 Gloster Gladiator fighters and four Hawker Hart dive-bombers. The Swedish Air Force saw combat as part of the United Nations peace-keeping mission ONUC during the Congo Crisis in 1961 to 1964. It established

1862-543: Was Bascentralen (BasC) , The Base Central, where the base command would be stationed. The BasC was located in an underground bunker. Pilots would also be stationed at the BasC in between missions. The BasC was equipped with computers for mission planning and the data could then be transferred to the aircraft computers. Trafikledaren Vid Fältet (TLF) , The Traffic Leader At The Field, assisted in air traffic operations and could take them over completely if necessary. If someone

1911-471: Was acting as TLF at one of the short runways they could also take over if required, carrying the necessary radio equipment in a vehicle. A new type of base battalion was introduced with Bas 90; basbataljon 85 (base battalion type 85). One of the main improvements with the new battalion type was a more mobile groundcrew that could perform mobile flight line operations. This meant that the groundcrew became motorized in order to quickly deploy to and between

1960-535: Was an air base system used by the Swedish Air Force during the Cold War . Bas 90 was developed during the 1970s and 1980s from the existing Bas 60 system in response to the new threats and needs that had arisen since the conception of the Bas 60 system during the 1950s. Like its predecessor, the Bas 90 system was based around defensive force dispersal of aircraft across many krigsflygbaser (wartime air bases) in case of war, as well as dispersion of

2009-591: Was approved by the Swedish Riksdag on 1 April 2011 and the first jets departed for Libya on 2 April. A C-130 Hercules accompanied the fighters for mid-air refueling. 24 Gripen A/B in storage 120 C/D/E units are projected to be operational. 2 pledged to Ukraine. Note: Three C-17 Globemaster III 's are available through the Heavy Airlift Wing based in Hungary There are four fighter wings: The aviation units that were formerly under

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2058-462: Was dimensioned and equipped to serve one aircraft. Another addition was the newly formed Swedish Air Force Rangers , which were tasked with searching for and intercepting approaching attackers and infiltrators outside the bases normal defensive perimeters. About 30 basbataljon 85 were organized during the 1980s. One battalion consisted of the following units: The defense of the base could also be reinforced with infantry and anti-air units from

2107-492: Was scheduled for 2027. The contract also includes the option to procure up to 2 additional GlobalEye aircraft. After pledging current Saab ASC 890 platforms to Ukraine, the GlobalEye delivery was rushed and 1 additional aircraft was ordered. The rank insignia of commissioned officers . The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel . Bas 90 Bas 90 ( Flygbassystem 90 , Air Base System 90)

2156-413: Was signed with BAe Dynamics that same year to co-operate on Rb 73 development. Studies were conducted on longer range designs with wings and datalinks, the Rb 73D/Rb 73DL. A lack of FMV funding brought the Rb 73 programme to a halt in 1987. In 1988 BAe Dynamics and Thomson-CSF (now Thales ) agreed to jointly fund development of a version of Skyflash with an active radar seeker . The Active Sky Flash (ASF)

2205-451: Was surrounded by countries at war and could not rely on imported oil . Instead domestic oil shale was heated to produce the needed petrol. About 250 aircrew were killed in crashes 1939-1945 according to statistics that were not disclosed during the war years but published afterwards. The Swedish Air Force underwent a rapid modernization from 1945. It was no longer politically acceptable to equip it with second-rate aircraft types. Instead,

2254-459: Was the same as in the Bas 60 system and remained unchanged. It was a typical runway at a length of 2,000–2,300 metres (6,600–7,500 ft) and 30–40 metres (98–131 ft) wide, with runway aprons and a taxiway running parallel to it. The main runway was designated Helge ( H ) in accordance with the Swedish phonetic alphabet , with Helge standing for Huvudbana (Main runway). In order to avoid having aircraft become unable to operate from

2303-440: Was then also downed, the five-man crew being rescued from the sea by a freighter. In the air defence role the Swedish Air Force also operated surface-to-air missiles . Svea Air Corps (F 8) operated de Havilland J-28B Vampire jet aircraft in 1949 being replaced in 1953 by Saab J-29 Tunnan and in 1957 by J-34 Hunter fighters. As of 1961 F 8 reroled into missile defence role becoming the air force technical training centre for using

2352-560: Was therefore never fully active during the time it existed, like the rest of the Swedish Armed Forces during the Cold War and the immediate period after. Bas 90 bases were mainly built from existing Bas 60 bases. The new system required expanding base infrastructure and construction of new fortifications. The new layout meant that the effective size of a base became 20–40 square kilometers, including surrounding terrain that needed to be surveilled and defended. The main runway

2401-465: Was to include a Thomson-CSF seeker and a new warhead developed by LFK, the guided missile division of Daimler-Benz Aerospace ( DASA ) now known as MBDA Deutschland GmbH . Concepts progressed from the basic ASF to the agile tail-controlled ASF TC Mk. II. Prototype seekers were delivered in 1990 with air-carriage trials in 1991. Saab Dynamics continued to refine the Rb 73 design using company funds and renewed links were established with BAe Dynamics, to meet

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