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Russian interference with the GPS systems could have disastrous consequences
The Swedish Navy, together with the other parts of the defense, is in a rearmament phase which is not only a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, but also the general Russian military rearmament with a more aggressive behavior towards the West.
Navy chief Ewa Skoog Haslum, 54, with the rank of rear admiral, currently has around 3,000 employees under her, half of whom are soldiers and naval officers who in many cases work in a sharp atmosphere that brings to mind the 1980s cold war and harsh relationship with the Soviet Union .
The marine units that work at sea are constantly combat-ready and ready to act.
– The staff works hard because we are few. We have an organization that is too small, Hos says when we interview her in connection with the Armed Forces Days in Saltsjöbaden.
The organization is growing with ships and personnel. And the navy does not lack money for new investments.
– We have no recruitment problems. But we need more people to solve our task.
Ewa Skoog Haslum expresses some frustration that the reconstruction is taking such a long time.
– It is easier to order trucks and ammunition than submarines and surface combat ships, she says.
The problem today is that it’s too slow, it’s too cumbersome. It takes too long, according to Skoog Haslum.
Ewa Skoog Haslum says that it can be a challenge when new ships are to be produced.
– Now there has been an industry born of famine. But I think it won’t be very long before even the Swedish say that we are fat in our order books.
Everything that moves on the sea and under the surface around Sweden is included in the Navy’s surveillance area when it comes to protecting the country.
– I’m not just talking about the Baltic Sea, but our immediate area. We have been very focused on the Baltic Sea, but it is a very limited part. I choose to look in our immediate area.
By local area, she also means the West Coast and the entire Norrland coast with the Gulf of Bothnia.
The corvette HMS Visby. The Swedish Armed Forces have five corvettes of the Visby class. The ships form the backbone of the navy’s surface combatant ships. The stealth technology that gives the ships their characteristic appearance is developed to make it more difficult for the adversary to detect it, regardless of whether the reconnaissance takes place with the help of radar, infrared technology (heat radiation) or hydroacoustics (sound). The weapon systems are hidden behind hatches.
The focus is Russia.
– The Russian navy is largely unaffected. They carry out largely the type of exercises they did before. We see them out at sea. They are as active now as they were two years ago. Their ability remains in the Baltic Sea. It is there and we all agree on that. Their ability to be able to do something, then I am not talking about a full-scale armed attack on Sweden, it is there.
“Catastrophic consequences with accidents”
The Russians operate unashamedly with certain types of actions, including exposing the GPS satellite navigation system.
– They carry out disturbances on the GPS. It has effects on both air traffic and sea traffic. Not everyone discovers this. But it can lead to catastrophic consequences with accidents at sea. It can also create such uncertainty that people do not want to traffic in our waters, which can have consequences for our livelihood.
Has it increased?
– Yes, it has. Not only in the Baltic Sea but in our immediate area.
Countermeasures and defenses against this?
– It is to constantly show that we are present. And we are. We do it together with others all the time. We have been close to Finland since before. But we also work closely with NATO’s standing forces, but also the NATO nations’ own ships that come in here.
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