Pål Jonson

And this issue isn't an issue which is discussed because there's such a, a great agreement about that, uh, uh, this, this threat from, from Russia is a threat, uh, to Sweden as well as to NATO, as to the Baltic Sea.

And, and, uh, we may, may listen to, to the, to, to the, uh, clip from the for, from the defense minister who describing that how Swedes are thinking about these issues.

I always lose much more sleep about not conveying that the, the things are risky than trying to scaremonger.

So when we send out that folder in twenty seventeen, a lot of people thought that, "Oh, oh, this would be... people would get very worried," and, and, and so forth.

They're gonna look at our Ukraine support, and they're gonna say, "Oh, it's great that you're, you're increasing your expenditures, but where are your brigades? Where is your industrial output?" and so forth.

And we as Europeans also need to push and to grow up and take a larger responsibility.

That was Sweden's Defense Minister, Pål Jonson, there.

He was speaking to Monocle's foreign desks, uh, foreign desk team a little bit earlier.

The government said in a statement that the acquisition would enable the Swedish armed forces to operate over larger areas and with greater long-range capacity than with current systems.

Defense Minister Paul Johnson told reporters that the deal covered about 10 trucks equipped with launchers and a large quantity of ammunition, according to News Agency TT report.

The first deliveries of the artillery system made by United States defense giant Lockheed Martin was set for 2027, according to the government.

The government said, quote, in light of security situation, rapidly available capabilities are needed that complement conventional artillery systems, such as the Swedish-made Archer artillery system.