The Nordic Norm of Ground-Based Air Defenses: Mass, Mix, Maneuver, and Integration

The Nordic region—Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark—has rapidly modernized and expanded its ground-based air defense (GBAD) capabilities in response to heightened security concerns, especially following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. Using the mass, mix, maneuver, and integration framework, this article evaluates how these countries’ GBADs collectively fare, with a focus on Sweden’s latest acquisition of German IRIS-T SLM systems. Continue reading The Nordic Norm of Ground-Based Air Defenses: Mass, Mix, Maneuver, and Integration

European views on the Potential for Conventional War and the Need for Ground Based Air Defenses, 2000–2025

Eastern European countries saw the Russian threat coming and consistently documented this in official documents from the early 2000s. Western European powers were overly optimistic and had to dramatically correct course, first in 2014 and then sharply in 2022. Continue reading European views on the Potential for Conventional War and the Need for Ground Based Air Defenses, 2000–2025

Norwegian Air Defense Artillery – A Brief Historical Review

The work of building up air defense in Norway after the war began in October 1945, with Lieutenant Colonel Leif Husjord as the newly appointed Inspector General and Chief of Air Defense Artillery. Just over eight years later, in 1953, the Air Defense Artillery had established itself as the second largest branch of the Armed Forces. And the plan for mobilization was for a period … Continue reading Norwegian Air Defense Artillery – A Brief Historical Review