Comments by "LRRPFco52" (@LRRPFco52) on "Strategic Win for NATO: Sweden Joins the Ranks || Peter Zeihan" video.

As Sweden cut their defense spending in the 1990s, Poland increased theirs, acquired F-16C/D Block 52s, and is now scheduled and contracted for F-35A Block 4s. They actively participated in GWOT, while attending and hosting NATO Large Force Exercises. Poland is taking their defense more seriously than at any time in the last century at least.
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@@moldevx64NATO is European-led, US industrial might-funded. There has never been a US NATO General Secretary and NATO HQ is in Brussels. Finland and Sweden will rotate NATO General Secretary duty and the US won't.
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All of the critical Gripen technologies are US and UK, not Swedish, starting with the engine and Radar.
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@altratronic Polish Air Force would rapidly attrit the regional Russian Air regiments in Air-to-Air and their IADS net with Patriot PAC-3, IBCS, and IAMD would render Russian cruise and hypersonic missiles mostly useless. Once they get F-35A Block 4, it will be even more unfair.
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@joestalin2375 Chinese parts are specifically forbidden from these types of contracts. They freak out even when raw materials are discovered to have been sourced for landing gear or magnets.
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@historian8214 Finland was part of the Swedish empire for centuries, used as military conscripts by the Swedes against the Russians until the Russian Empire took Finland in 1809. Russia did something weird with Finland and left them alone as a Grand Duchy until Finland declared independence during the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. Finland has been independent ever since that time.
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Finland and Poland ramped up defense in the 1990s, purchasing advanced modern fighters and weapon systems. Finland bought 64 F-18C/Ds with full AIM-120 capability in 1992, then later upgraded them to F/A-18C/D with JASSM, JDAM, and other weapons in the 2010s. Poland bought F-16C/D Block 52s to replace their MiG-29As. Sweden cut a lot of spending because of the "peace dividend", like most other short-sighted European Parliaments.
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@andreasv9472 Depends on the time period and specific region of what we now call Finland or Suomi in Finnish. The eastern region around Viipuri was fairly autonomous with more of a Germanic governate separate from both Swedish and Russian rule, while the capital city was far to the West in Turku under Swedish rule. There is Old Finland vs New Finland based on the tug-of-war between Sweden and Russians. Finns call their land Suomi and have a very distinct language that is neither Swedish nor Slavic, is far more gramatically-complex, and is non Indo-European. My mom is Finnish and I have lived there several times. Much of my family lives there now.
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@TheDanielsweden Finns have more than adequate equipment even compared with Sweden. Finns have superior fighters and weapons, including the JASSM launched from the F/A-18C. Finland got it even ahead of the UK, since UK was making their own called Storm Shadow. Finns have excellent APCs with Pasi and Patria AMV, good tanks, great anti-armor weapons, comms network, artillery that rivals most of Europe, but they are very quiet about their capabilities.
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Sweden historically used Finnish conscripts to fight their wars on various adventurist fronts. Among the old Finnish soldiers centuries ago, they used to say, "Swedish army, bravest in the world, always fighting to the last Finn."
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@Ea-pb2tu Yup. Ingrians, Finns, and Livonians fighting as soldiers for the Swedish Empire. My daughter-in-law is part Ingrian. My grandfather is from Pohjanmaa in Western Finland, heavy Swedish-speaking population there.
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Gripen is mostly US and UK technology. Engine, Radar, hydraulics, fire control computer, databus, missiles, ejection seat, pylons, rails, landing gear, brakes, servos are all US/UK...the gun is German. It's basically a NATO subsystem fighter partially-assembled in Sweden.
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@bjornl6547 Which territories does Sweden enlist its prime age males from to go fight adventurist wars?
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@wendellmccall4453 NORAD is the defense pact that defends US soil, not NATO. US also protects the Pacific region to facilitate free global trade.
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Finland is the most strategic piece of real estate in the region. You aren't within striking distance of Murmansk from Gotland.
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@benktlofgren4710 Gripen A/B/C/D has some Hughes and Raytheon licensed systems to Erickson, since Hughes provided the fire control computer and other Radar subsystems technology for the Viggen. From Saab: "For now there are no plans to equip the new-generation Gripen E/F with the GaN radar as the GaAs-based Leonardo ES-05 Raven is fully integrated for that requirement, but it could be substituted if a customer specified it." Sweden never had the budget to operate the test ranges and small armies of engineers and technicians like the US has done at Edwards AFB, Pax River, Point Mugu, China Lake, Eglin AFB, Nellis AFB, White Sands, the NTTR, and multiple competing Radar and missile manufacturers. Pretty much all of the Gripen's Radar and fire-control comes from programs run at all those bases and test ranges in the US since the 1950s.
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