Aircraft
Sweden’s Air Force Marks 100 Years of Service
NATO newcomer rearms against resurgent Russia
Swedish Air Force GlobalEye
The future of Swedish air defense: a GlobalEye, represented here by an aircraft on test prior to delivery to the UAE, flies with a Gripen E development aircraft. © Saab

At the start of this month, the Swedish air force (SwAF), or Flygvapnet, celebrated its centenary. Sweden created the independent service on July 1, 1926, by merging the air services of its army and navy.

Since 1994, the SwAF has been subordinate to an overall joint forces command, but it continues to maintain its own strong identity. Having experienced cycles of growth and decline over the decades as a result of geopolitical influences, the service is once again on the rise in response to the growing Russian threat to Europe.