Sweden’s defense command has responded to the growing unpredictability of a changed security landscape in the greater Baltic Sea area by toughening up the Military Strategy Doctrine (MSD) under which the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) deals with threats against the country’s sovereignty, Defense News reports.

The new doctrine shifts the emphasis of national defense from a post-Cold War era strategy largely based on containment to a more aggressive model that will deploy advanced weapons systems and modern warfare forces as part of a "sustained" and coordinated high-impact strike against attackers.

The revised MSD formats a framework under which the defense of Sweden can be conducted either "alone" or potentially in collaboration with multinational Nordic, European Union or NATO forces.

The notable downsizing of Sweden’s military end strength and capacity began in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. In subsequent years, lower spending on the then-conscription-based defense system substantially reduced fighter strength and manpower in core Army, Navy, Air Force, Home Guards and local defense units.

The SAF’s mobilization capacity comprised around 100,000 active-duty soldiers in 1985, supported by a further 350,000 trained reserves. Sweden’s front-line response arsenal included 300 modern combat aircraft; a Navy operating a fleet of 40 warships and 12 submarines; and an extensive battalion-based coastal artillery system.

Post 1985, the SAF has lost over 50 percent of its operational Army combat units, 75 percent of its local defense divisions, over 60 percent of its aircraft and around 30 percent of its naval capacity, including surface ships and submarines.