Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · 4d

Pavel… you can have a look at my short documentary (7 min) made in 2019 about the Swedish Cold War nuclear weapons program. There you have facts that you won’t find at Wiki…. Just scroll down my interactive nuclear story and you will find the documentary in English… www.svt.se/datajournali...

World Nuclear Forces

Here you can see for yourself how the arsenals of nuclear powers have changed. During the Cold War, there were about 70,000 nuclear weapons in the world. Since then the number has declined year by yea...

www.svt.se

Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · 5d

STOCKHOLM — Sweden will participate in NATO’s annual nuclear military exercise for the first time, a major step for a nation that avoided military alliance for 200 years and has avoided nuclear entanglements entirely.

breakingdefense.com/2025/10/swed...

Sweden comes out of its nuclear closet, sending Gripens to NATO’s Steadfast Noon drill - Breaking Defense

“In an increasingly uncertain world, NATO needs a credible nuclear capability to prevent attacks against the Alliance. Steadfast Noon contributes to ensuring this,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said...

breakingdefense.com

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · 21d

Berlin revealed that it is considering Swedish defense firm Saab’s airborne early warning and control platform (AEW&C), Global Eye. France has already opted for the surveillance and command plane.
breakingdefense.com/2025/09/germ...

Germany and Sweden not discussing FCAS partnership, say defense ministers - Breaking Defense

"A decision must and will be made regarding whether and how FCAS will continue” said German defense minister Boris Pistorius.

breakingdefense.com

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Sep 16

breakingdefense.com/2025/09/russ...

Russian threat pushes Sweden to additional $2.9 billion defense spending pledge for 2026 - Breaking Defense

Planned investment in high-profile procurements for 2026 includes air defence systems, rocket artillery, ammunition and combat vehicles for the Swedish Army, new surface combat vessels for Marines and...

breakingdefense.com

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Sep 12

🇸🇪 Sweden to phase out dev aid to Myanmar by June ‘26, redirecting focus to Ukraine. Move comes as conditions worsen under Myanmar’s junta. #Sweden #Myanmar #Ukraine #ForeignAid

➡️ www.regeringen.se/pressmeddela...

Sverige fasar ut biståndet till Myanmar

Sverige fortsätter omläggningen av biståndet för att kunna prioritera Ukraina. Regeringen fattar nu beslut om att fasa ut biståndet till Myanmar....

www.regeringen.se

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Aug 28

STOCKHOLM — Just three days after Sweden closed a $550 million deal with Bangkok for four Gripen E/F fighter jets, a high-level Peruvian delegation in search of its own more modern fighter fleet visited Stockholm to hold talks with their Swedish counterparts about Saab’s Gripen.

Breaking Defense @breakingdefense.com · Aug 28

Sweden had ‘productive’ Gripen talks with Peru as Lima shops for new fighter fleet
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/08/sweden-had-productive-gripen-talks-with-peru-as-lima-shops-for-new-fighter-fleet/

Sweden had ‘productive’ Gripen talks with Peru as Lima shops for new fighter fleet

Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson told Breaking Defense that up to 24 airframes are on the table.

breakingdefense.com

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Aug 25

STOCKHOLM — Sweden and Thailand finalized an agreement today in which Bangkok will buy four Gripen E/F fighter jets from Swedish defense firm Saab, with an order value of around 5.3 billion Swedish kronor ($550 million USD).

Breaking Defense @breakingdefense.com · Aug 25

Saab secures $550M Gripen E/F order for Thailand
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/08/saab-secures-550m-gripen-e-f-order-for-thailand/

Saab secures $550M Gripen E/F order for Thailand

The Swedish parliament, Riksdagen, has also given the government authority to enter into an agreement with Thailand on up to 12 new Gripens and additional air defense systems.

breakingdefense.com

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Aug 19

breakingdefense.com/2025/08/nord...

Nordic countries, Canada signal support for Ukraine security guarantees - Breaking Defense

In a joint statement, the countries said they are "ready to play an active role" to support security guarantees, though details have been scarce.

breakingdefense.com

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Aug 19

STOCKHOLM — The foreign ministers of the Nordic nations as well as Canada today expressed strong, unified support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity amid Russia’s ongoing missile attacks on Ukraine, as well as a willingness to play a part in any future security guarantees for Kyiv.

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Aug 6

STOCKHOLM — The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) told Breaking Defense that a formal signing ceremony is expected to take place later this month to mark Thailand’s acquisition of additional Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets.

➡️ breakingdefense.com/2025/08/swed...

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jul 29

STOCKHOLM – The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has confirmed that Saab Gripen fighter aircraft were used against Cambodia over the weekend, marking the first-known weapons launch in combat from the Swedish jet.

➡️ breakingdefense.com/2025/07/afte...

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jul 8

STOCKHOLM — Sweden has signed contracts worth over 5 billion Swedish kronor ($523 million) for artillery ammunition, marking its largest investment in such munitions since the 1980s.

➡️ breakingdefense.com/2025/07/swed...

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jul 7

It is named after Vice Admiral Oleksiy Vitalyovych Burylichev, who headed the Main Department of Deep-Sea Research for 15 years.

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jul 7

Russia’s new navy vessel ‘Vice Admiral Burylychev’ launched in the Baltic Sea in July. It joins the MoD’s GUGI fleet for undersea surveillance & seabed warfare.

militarnyi.com/uk/news/rosi...

Росія спустила на воду нове судно для розвідки підводної інфраструктури

Росія спустила на воду нове дослідне океанографічне судно «Вице-адмирал Буриличев», яке призначене для розвідки підводних комунікацій

militarnyi.com

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 24

STOCKHOLM — Sweden has launched a major procurement to bolster air defense capabilities in the Baltic Sea region. The initiative includes medium- and short-range missile systems, radars, command infrastructure and vehicle platforms.
➡️ breakingdefense.com/2025/06/swed...

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 21

Explore the world’s nuclear forces in 2025! ~2,100 warheads are on high alert.

SVT’s interactive story, now in its 7th year, tracks warheads, their carriers, & modernization in 9 nuclear-armed states:
🇷🇺🇺🇸🇨🇳🇫🇷🇬🇧🇵🇰🇮🇳🇮🇱🇰🇵

➡️ www.svt.se/datajournali...

Ceremony for raising naval flag on nuclear-powered and strategic submarine Emperor Alexander III. Source: Kremlin

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 19

Just days before NATO is set to gather for its high-profile summit at The Hague, Sweden today revealed it would delay its goal of hitting 3.5% GDP defense spending until up to 2032 — the timeline officials said is likely to be agreed upon by NATO allies next week. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/swed...

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 18

STOCKHOLM — Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO will enhance the alliance’s missile defense posture through geographical and operational depth, allowing for the deployment of more air defense systems.

breakingdefense.com/2025/06/scan...

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Reposted by Jonas Olsson

Hans Kristensen @nukestrat.bsky.social · Jun 16

Swedish SVT published a fancy infographic of our global nuke arsenal data from the SIPRI Yearbook just published today. www.svt.se/datajournali...

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 16

Featuring interview with Hans M. Kristensen, Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme and Director for the Nuclear Information Project at Federation of America Scientists (FAS) @nukestrat.bsky.social @SIPRI.bsky.social @scientistsorg.bsky.social

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 15

STOCKHOLM — China has boosted its nuclear arsenal by 100 warheads in just one year, growing from an estimated 500 to over 600 warheads in 2025, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

breakingdefense.com/2025/06/chin...

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 15

Visited Uppsala University for the fascinating #AlvaMyrdal2025 conference this week. Paintings of Swedish war kings gave perspective.

Stories on #nukes, #missiles, & #scandinaviadefense coming soon.
Stay tuned ⚡️⚡️⚡️

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 3

“It’s unfortunate. Only U.S. Air Force Europe knows the reason behind the decision”, Colonel Greberg says and adds that, from a defense perspective, the USA remains Sweden’s closest ally. 4/4

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 3

In the end, it involved only Denmark and the USA, but the Danes withdrew, and now it’s clear that the U.S. Air Force will not participate either.

The American contribution was set to include 12 F-16 fighter jets and 250 personnel. 3/4

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Jonas Olsson @jonasolsson.bsky.social · Jun 3

“They informed us they have other commitments”, Colonel Peter Greberg, Commander of Norrbotten Air Force F21, says to SVT.

Originally, ACE2025, was planned to include around ten nations, but earlier this spring, the exercise was scaled back. 2/4

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