A new deal gives the US military 'unimpeded access' to Sweden's bases — including a vital outpost in the heart of northern Europe

• The US and Sweden signed a defense cooperation agreement on December 6.
• The agreement grants the US access to and use of 17 Swedish facilities, including on Gotland Island.
• Gotland is a strategically valuable outpost in the middle of the Baltic Sea.

On December 6, the US and Sweden signed a defense cooperation agreement that will significantly strengthen their military links and increase US presence in an important region amid heightened tension with Russia.

The agreement gives US forces access to several Swedish bases and facilities, allows the US to preposition equipment in the country, and establishes conditions under which US troops deployed to Sweden will operate. It will permit US forces to quickly react to a crisis in the area.

The agreement "sends a strong signal that we remain committed to addressing security challenges together," Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said. Although not explicitly mentioned in the agreement, Jonson said that no US nuclear weapons will be stored in Sweden.

Sweden had traditionally been militarily non-aligned, working closely with NATO but never joining, but Russia's attack on Ukraine last year led to it apply to join NATO alongside Finland.

Sweden's application has yet to be approved, but Jason Moyer, an associate at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington DC, said the defense cooperation agreement "provides some stability and assurances" for Sweden, further enmeshes it within NATO, and deepens its bilateral relationship with the US.

Accessing crucial locations

According to the agreement, the US will receive "unimpeded access" to and "use" of 17 Swedish facilities, five of which are air bases or airports and one a harbor.

Four of these facilities, including two air bases, are within the Arctic Circle, where the US military and its NATO allies have been spending more time in recent years.

A number of the other Swedish facilities the US will receive access to lie along the Baltic Sea. The Russian city of St. Petersburg and its Kaliningrad exclave also border the sea, but the rest of its coastline is occupied by NATO members — Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland — leading to the Baltic being described as a "NATO lake."

Perhaps the most important of those Swedish facilities are the ones around Visby on Gotland Island.

The island, which is Sweden's largest and has a population of about 60,000, sits in the middle of the Baltic, roughly halfway between Sweden and the three Baltic countries, and looks over sea lanes Russian forces would have to traverse to reach Kaliningrad or the Atlantic.

In the event of a war, forces on Gotland could support the Baltics and Poland, pressure Kaliningrad, and limit Russian naval activity in the Baltic. Conversely, if Russia captured the island, it could better isolate the Baltic states and pressure allied shipping, denying NATO freedom of movement in the area.

Gotland's location has thus given it prime military importance. During exercises there in 2017, the commanding general of US Army Europe at the time told the island's Swedish garrison that they had "a strategically very important task here. I do not think there is any island anywhere that is more important."

Sweden demilitarized the island in 2005, as tensions with Russia declined following the Cold War. But Stockholm reintroduced a permanent garrison in 2016, following Russia's attack on Ukraine and illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Sweden has continued to increase its defenses on the island by deploying a mechanized and an amphibious battalion. In 2021, it reintroduced medium-range surface-to-air missiles batteries, which can take down jets, missiles, and drones. Sweden regularly holds exercises with NATO militaries on the island.

Besides the facilities, the ability to preposition and store materiel in Sweden would allow the US to use the country's "geostrategic location at the center of the Nordics to supply allies in the Baltic Sea region in the event of an expanded campaign of Russian aggression," Moyer told Business Insider.

Nordic agreements

The Nordic region is increasingly being integrated intro a transatlantic security framework, Moyer said. Sweden's parliament still needs to approve the agreement for it to go into effect, which it is expected to do in 2024, and it will be one of several the US has with countries in the region.

In 2021, the US signed a defense cooperation agreement with NATO member Norway granting it access to Norwegian bases and the ability to preposition materiel there. The agreement went into effect last year.

The US and Finland are poised to sign their own defense cooperation agreement. Among the Finnish facilities that the US will gain access is Russarö Island. The island, which is off-limits to the public, sits at the opening of the Gulf of Finland, a channel connecting St. Petersburg to the Baltic Sea. The US is also negotiating a defense cooperation agreement with Denmark, which sits at the mouth of the Baltic Sea.

"These agreements play a vital role in deterring Russian aggression," Moyer said. "Russia has the capacity to reconstitute much of its military capabilities in the next 3-5 years. Now is the time to tangibly move forward on defense cooperation amongst allies."

Constantine Atlamazoglou works on transatlantic and European security. He holds a master's degree in security studies and European affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. You can contact him on LinkedIn and follow him on X/Twitter.