UK HQ for Nordic Battle Group
JORIS JANSSEN LOK JDW Correspondent and DONNA RICHARDSON Jane's Aviation Reporter
Såtenäs Air Base, Sweden
The Nordic Battle Group is looking to the UK to provide it with a strategic command and control capability. Sweden is negotiating an agreement with the UK for the use of the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) in Northwood, London, as an operational headquarters (OHQ) to provide strategic-level command and control (C2) for the Swedish-led Nordic Battle Group (NBG).
The NBG, formed in May, comprises 2,000 troops from Sweden, 200 from Finland, 150 from Norway and 50 from Estonia. Discussions are ongoing about including a contribution from the Republic of Ireland, according to NBG force commander and Swedish Army Brigadier General Karl Engelbrektson.
The unit is scheduled to be on standby for six months starting on 1 January 2008 for deployment within 10 days to a crisis area within a 6,000 km radius of Brussels. Should the NBG be called upon to deploy, C2 arrangements include a 92-strong force headquarters (FHQ) that will deploy into the area of operations to provide C2 at the operational and tactical level.
At the strategic level, however, the Swedish armed forces do not have the facilities or expertise to provide C2 for a force that is deployed overseas, an NBG officer told Jane's. "The opportunity has arisen to use the UK's PJHQ in Northwood as the OHQ, while the UK has also offered to give us guidance about how to set up and operate the PJHQ," he added.
Should the NBG deploy, it is foreseen that a key nucleus in Northwood, incorporating a Nordic OHQ cell, would be available to provide an immediate response. This capability would be boosted within five days by a number of primary augmentations and within 20 days by further augmentations.
The OHQ would be linked to the Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Estonian and possibly Irish capitals for military co-ordination - political co-ordination would be done via the EU in Brussels. It would also be linked with the deployed FHQ via secure data, video teleconferencing and voice communications lines.
According to Gen Engelbrektson, the NBG is being set up as a "coherent joint and combined task force to be used in the whole spectrum of peace support operations, either as a spearhead for a wider force or as a stand-alone force."
He emphasised that Sweden's commitment to lead the NBG and to have the battle group ready by 1 January 2008 makes it a "good vehicle to promote the transformation of the Swedish armed forces".
Speaking during a presentation on Sweden's newly acquired joint force capabilities at Såtenäs Air Base, Sweden, on the 80th anniversary of the Swedish Air Force (SwAF), Gen Engelbrektson said: "The battle group and its required level of readiness demands a new approach, which we are implementing.
Not knowing when, where and how to deploy means that it is impossible to prepare the operational plan in advance. A new range of capabilities, assets, knowledge and training is necessary. The area of operations is much bigger, which leads to a need for knowledge of conflicts, cultures, climates and their impact on personnel and equipment.
"We believe that deploying and redeploying the NBG force package will require a combination of strategic sea- and air-lift as well as tactical lift, plus air and sea port-of-debarkation expertise, combined with a movement control organisation," he told the international audience at Såtenäs.
The live demonstration at Såtenäs of some of the joint capabilities that will be part of the NBG included the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2A5S main battle tank, BAE Systems Land Systems Hägglunds CV90 infantry fighting vehicle, Patria XA-203S armoured personnel carrier, Ericsson Microwave Systems Giraffe AMB surveillance radar as well as forward air control assets, all from the Swedish Army.
SwAF assets taking part in the demonstration included Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters providing close air support, Saab/Ericsson Erieye airborne early warning aircraft and Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules aircraft. The latter provided tactical airlift support.
