*** Welcome to piglix ***

Swedish military

Swedish Armed Forces
Försvarsmakten
Coat of Arms of the Swedish Armed Forces
Coat of Arms of the Swedish Armed Forces.
War flag of Sweden
War flag and Naval Ensign of Sweden
Founded 1521; 496 years ago (1521)
Current form 1975
Service branches Coat of Arms of the Swedish Army Swedish Army
Coat of Arms of the Swedish Air Force Swedish Air Force
Coat of Arms of the Swedish Navy Swedish Navy
Coat of Arms of the Home Guard Home Guard
Coat of Arms of the Swedish Navy Swedish Amphibious Corps
Headquarters
Leadership
Command-in-Chief Government of Sweden
(Löfven Cabinet)
Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist
Supreme Commander General Micael Bydén
Manpower
Military age 16-70 years old
Conscription Yes. Beginning 1 July 2017
Available for
military service
2,065,782 males, age 18-47 (2010 est.),
1,995,451 females, age 18-47 (2010 est.)
Fit for
military service
1,709,592 males, age 18-47 (2010 est.),
1,649,875 females, age 18-47 (2010 est.)
Reaching military
age annually
58,937 males (2010 est.),
56,225 females (2010 est.)
Active personnel 25,340 Soldiers
Reserve personnel 29,830 Reservists
Expenditures
Budget SEK 48.451 billion (USD ~5.77 billion) (2015)
Percent of GDP 1.24% (2015)
Related articles
History Military history of Sweden
Ranks Military ranks of the Swedish Armed Forces

The Swedish Armed Forces (Swedish: Försvarsmakten) is the government agency that forms the military forces of Sweden, and which is tasked with defence of the country, as well as promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting international peacekeeping efforts, and providing humanitarian aid.

It consists of: the Swedish Army, the Swedish Air Force and the Swedish Navy, with addition of a military reserve force, the Home Guard (Swedish: Hemvärnet). Since 1994, all the Swedish armed services are organised within a single unified government agency, headed by the Supreme Commander, even though the individual services maintain their distinct identities. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is traditionally attributed as Honorary General and Admiral à la suite.

The military history of Sweden includes several unions and wars with all of its neighbour states, including extended Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War at the times of the Swedish Empire during the 17th and early 18th centuries. Wars with Russia culminated in the Finnish War (1808-1809), with Sweden losing Finland. During the World Wars, the Cold War and throughout the 20th century, Sweden maintained a national policy of non-alignment, while the Swedish Armed Forces strength was based upon the concepts of conscription. In 2010, peacetime conscription was abolished, replacing it with volunteer armed forces including the Home Guard – National Security Force until 2018.


...
Wikipedia

...