The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.
History
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.
World War II When World War II broke out in 1939 further expansion was initiated and this substantial expansion was not finished until 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 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.
Expansion during the Cold War
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, the Air Staff purchased the best it could find from abroad, e.g. P-51D 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 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 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 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 the new RB-68 Bloodhound systems in 2 squadrons until 1974.
These Swedish units also operated the RB-68 missile system (1 squadron each): Scania Wing, also F 10 Ängelholm Kalmar Wing, also F 12 Kalmar, Bråvalla Wing, also F 13 Norrköping Blekinge Wing, also F 17 Kallinge,
Death toll during the Cold War 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 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 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.
War service 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.
Finland 1940 When the Soviet Union attacked Finland in November 1939, Sweden came to its neighbour's assistance but eventually decided not to join 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.
Congo 1961–1964
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 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.
1990s restructuring 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 the Saab 37 Viggen retired prematurely. In 1994 the Air Force had over 400 fighters, by 2005 that number had shrunk to fewer than 150.
Libya 2011 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 was approved by the 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.
Poland 2025 In March of 2025 Sweden, now a part of NATO, sent six Saab Gripen fighters to Poland to take part in an enhanced air policing mission to protect NATO's borders from Russia.
2026 On 27 September, 2026, Swedish JAS 39 Gripens alongside Finish F/A-18 Hornets intercepted Russian fighter jets in the international airspace over the Gulf of Finland, in the first such joint operation of Nordic countries.
Equipment Aircraft
Aircraft Origin Role Variant In service Notes Combat aircraftJAS 39 Gripen Swingrole fighter JAS 39C 71 Total of 60 Gripen E were ordered.12 additional planned to be ordered as of July 2026. JAS 39E 2(+58 on order) JAS 39AJAS 39B 0 24 in storage Special role aircraft Gulfstream IV S 102B Korpen 2 Sensors focus on radar, navigation and weapon systems. Saab 340B Open Skies reconnaissance /Transport / liaison TP 100A 1 Photographic observation over foreign territory. Global 6000 -GlobalEye S 106 0(+ 3 on order) 2 ordered in June 2022 (+2 options).1 ordered in June 2024 (1 option exercised.First delivery expected in 2027. Will be pooled with the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force aircraft and jointly operated Tanker KC-130 Hercules Aerial refueling KC-130H 1 Transport C-130 Hercules Tactical airlifter TP 84D(C-130H) 5 To be replaced by the Embraer C-390. Embraer C-390 Tactical airlifter – 0(+4 on order) Ordered in October 2025 to replace the C-130H fleet. Saab 340B+ Transport / liaison TP 100A 1 Bombardier Global 6500 VIP transport TP 106 2 Used aircraft, in service 2026.It succeeds to:
Gulfstream IV - TP 102C Gulfstream G550 - TP 102D Helicopters Sikorsky UH-60 Utility / transport / HKP 16(UH-60M) 15(+12 on order) 15 acquired to replace 10 Super Puma. 12 more ordered in July 2025 to replace the HKP 14E. NHIndustries NH90 Utility / transport / () HKP 14E(NH90 TTH) 9 Will be retired 2027 onwards. ASW / ASuWUtility / transport() HKP 14F(NH90 TTH) 9 Will be retired 2030 onwards. AgustaWestland AW109 Light utility / Transport / / /trainer HKP 15A(A109LUH) 12 Can be equipped with a fast-rope for special forces missions, or with a modular medical interior. Light utility / transport / liaison /ASW / HKP 15B(A109LUH) 8 Operates from Navy vessels, can be equipped with sonar buoys for ASW missions. Trainer aircraft JAS 39 Gripen Conversion trainer JAS 39D 23 Grob G 120TP Basic trainer – 13 UAV Elbit Skylark Fixed-wing , UAV 02 Falken 48 48 ordered in 2007. capability. AAI RQ-7 Shadow Fixed-wing , UAV03 Örnen(Shadow 200) 8 Purchased in 2010, 2 systems with 4 drones each.Modified by Saab, using in house technologies (sensors, systems, communications). AeroVironment Wasp III Fixed-wing , UAV 04 Svalan 3 Surveillance drone purchased in 2012 for the missions in Mali and Afghanistan. AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma Fixed-wing , UAV 05B Korpen 12 Surveillance drone purchased in 2012 for the missions in Mali and Afghanistan. Satellites ICEYE – 0(+10 on order) Ordered in January 2026, deliveries between 2026 and 2028. Planet Labs , high resolution imagery – The Swedish Armed Forces signed a contract in 2026.
Shared fleet Aircraft Operators Origin Role Variant In service Notes Aerial refueling Airbus A330 MRTTMulti-Role Tanker Transport Multinational MRTT FleetBelgium Czech Republic Denmark Finland Germany Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Sweden Tanker /Transporter / A330-200 MRTT 9 (+3 on order) Based at the Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands. Orders (+ nations initiating / joining the programme): 2 in July 2016 (Netherlands, Luxembourg) 5 in September 2018 (Germany, Norway) 1 in February 2018 (Belgium) 1 in September 2020 (Luxembourg) 1 in March 2023 (Belgium) 2 in June 2025 (Sweden, Denmark) (Finland)
The first aircraft entered service in June 2020, the ninth in February 2025). A330 MRTT MEDEVAC kit kit – 1 One of the MRTT aircraft of the Multinational MRTT Fleet comes with the MEDEVAC kits.Kit with: 6 ICU, 16 stretchers and 21 chairs for medical support.. Transport Boeing C-17 Globemaster III SACStrategic Airlift Capability Bulgaria EstoniaFinland Hungary Lithuania Netherlands Norway Poland Romania Slovenia Sweden United States Strategic transport aircraft C-17A 3 Heavy Airlift Wing based at Pápa Air Base in Hungary. Weapons
Organization
Fighter wings There are four fighter wings: Skaraborg Wing (F 7), at Såtenäs Air Base, operates JAS 39C/D Uppland Wing (F 16), at Ärna Air Base, reestablished in 2021 and without fighter divisions as of 2024 Blekinge Wing (F 17), at Ronneby Air Base, operates JAS 39C/D Norrbotten Wing (F 21), at Luleå Air Base, operates JAS 39C/D
Helicopter squadrons The aviation units that were formerly under the Swedish Army ("") and the Swedish Navy ("") have been merged with the helicopter units of the Air Force to form the single Helicopter Wing () for the entire Armed Forces. The wing has been placed under the authority of the Air Force and consists of:
1st Helicopter Squadron, co-located with Norrbotten Wing at Luleå Air Base, operates NH90 TTH (Hkp 14E) 2nd Helicopter Squadron, at Malmen Air Base, operates AW109 (Hkp 15) and UH-60M Black Hawk (Hkp 16) 3rd Helicopter Squadron, co-located with Blekinge Wing at Ronneby Air Base, operates NH90 TTH (Hkp 14F) and AW109 (Hkp 15) 4th Helicopter Squadron, at Malmen Air Base, operates AW109 (Hkp 15) and UH-60M Black Hawk (Hkp 16)
Other squadrons The air transport units perform airlift operations, and are used in both national and in international missions. The unit also organizes the Swedish part of the Heavy Airlift Wing in Hungary. Signals reconnaissance units conduct electronic combat reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.