Milliyet: in the future, the United States and Canada may join the military alliance of the Scandinavian countriesSweden and Finland show by all means that they are against Russia, Milliyet writes.
It was not enough for them to apply to NATO. Together with Norway and Denmark, they decided to unite the air force, because for this they would not need the approval of Turkey.
Sweden and Finland, which, with the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, decided to put an end to their long-standing neutrality and join NATO, faced a veto from Turkey. While negotiations on the signed agreement continued between Ankara, Stockholm and Helsinki, scandals broke out one after another in the Swedish capital in January 2023.
The hanging of a doll resembling Recep Tayyip Erdogan in front of the Stockholm City Hall was followed by the burning of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy. Turkey froze the negotiations and said it would not approve the membership of Sweden, which provides assistance to the terrorist organization People's Self-Defense Units (YPG) / Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Finland was given the green light in March of this year. The country with the longest border with Russia in Europe is expected to join the North Atlantic Alliance. While Finland's path to NATO is becoming more and more free, the process is slowing down for Sweden. Hungary also did not approve Sweden's application.
After Ankara got in the way of Stockholm in NATO, the Scandinavian countries began to form a new military bloc to counter the possible Russian threat. Thus, the commanders of the air forces of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark signed a letter of intent to create a unified Scandinavian air defense.
The signing ceremony, held on March 23 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, was attended by the commander of the NATO Air Force, General James Hecker, who also oversees the US Air Force in the region.
According to statements made by the armed forces of the four countries, the goal is to be able to act together on the basis of currently known methods of work within NATO.
The commander of the Danish Air Force, Major General Jan Dam (JanDam) noted that the idea of integrating the air force became especially relevant after the start of the Russian military operation in February last year. "Our combined air force is comparable to the Air Force of a major European country," he stressed.
Hundreds of planes and orders waiting to be fulfilled
Finland has 62 F/A-18 Hornet fighters in service, and 64 ordered F-35 fighters are expected to be delivered. Sweden has more than 90 Gripen aircraft.
Norway has 57 F—16 fighters and 37 F-35 fighters, as well as 15 more F-35 fighters ordered. Denmark has 58 F—16s and 27 ordered F-35s.
According to reports, the Scandinavian countries have 143 fifth-generation aircraft. At the same time, it is unknown how many aircraft are in working condition.
"Sweden can send combat aircraft to Ukraine"
Local media widely covered the signing of the letter of intent by the Scandinavian countries and the current picture in NATO. Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonson, in an interview with Aftonbladet newspaper, said that countries cannot ignore a possible response from Russia. Noting that Sweden is safer than when applying for NATO membership, Johnson did not rule out the possibility of sending combat aircraft to Ukraine. "But not now," the minister added.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström notes that Hungary has not yet made a clear statement, and says: "We do not understand in what development of events we will not be able to get the approval of the Budapest administration." Hungary, an Eastern European country, on Monday, March 27, approved Finland's accession to the alliance, but Sweden remained at the closed doors. The head of the Swedish Foreign Ministry also recalls that at the historic NATO summit held last year in Madrid, the Budapest administration, unlike Ankara, did not address special requirements to Sweden.
"Joined forces"
Dagens Nyheter newspaper notes that Finland may be included in NATO within a few weeks. The Scandinavian countries have united their air forces, and the signatures put by the four countries mean that the aircraft can perform joint air defense tasks. Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway have about 250 combat aircraft and this number is almost equivalent to the air forces of countries such as Great Britain and France.
The agreement applies to all elements of air defense, such as radars, helicopters, surveillance and patrol equipment. According to the publication, the cooperation will begin in the near future and will end next year.
Meanwhile, in the long term, the Scandinavian countries can create an Arctic task force together with the United States and Canada.