WI/PC. Sweden with an independent deterrent.

WILDGEESE

Gone Fishin'
With a post 1960 pod, get Sweden to engage in a nuclear weapons program that ultimately gives the country it's own independent deterrent, land or sea based?

It's your choice wether you go for a land based, sea based system or both. Systems chosen need to be on par with Polaris and Pershing to allow Sweden to attack the entire USSR west of the Urals.

Regards filers.
 
All Sweden needs to do is threaten to release dirty bombs and allow prevailing winds to kill of Ukranian crops plus a few million Russians.
Prevailing winds - and fear of fallout - were the primary Russia never finished conquering Europe during the Cold Wat.
 

Archibald

Banned
SAAAAAB A-36 !!!
T0dFSCW.jpg
 
There was an active nuclear weapons program from 1945 up until 1972, although it had been effectively abandoned by the late 60's.
 
The Swedes could pretty easily have a cruise missile based deterrent, with land and sea based versions. The sea based ones could be deployed on ships and subs, even if the subs needed to surface to fire them - given distances and sea conditions in the Baltic a Swedish sub could surface and fire of a half dozen missiles without too much risk of being caught before they fly. Sweden only needs to put targets from the Baltic to Moscow so missiles with a range about 750 miles would put a huge amount of valuable targets within range of both land and sea based cruise missiles. Remember Sweden need only make it clear that they can cost the USSR way more than they would want to spend to attack them. Trading Leningrad, Murmansk, Moscow for Stockholm (or even glazing all of Sweden) is not an exchange the USSr would care to make.
 
Due to Sweden's geography I think an 'enhanced tactical' nuclear delivery systems would take on strategic significance. Something like a specialised Viggen with more fuel firing a nuclear armed, land attack version of the RB04 would put a large number of targets in the western Soviet Union at risk, perhaps backed up by nuclear armed RB08 missiles fired from surface ships and possibly submarines.
 
With a post 1960 pod, get Sweden to engage in a nuclear weapons program that ultimately gives the country it's own independent deterrent, land or sea based?

It's your choice wether you go for a land based, sea based system or both. Systems chosen need to be on par with Polaris and Pershing to allow Sweden to attack the entire USSR west of the Urals.

Regards filers.
Would there have been even a notional requirment to be able to hold targets in other nuclear armed nations at risk ?
 
Other than the USSR/Russians who else would threaten Sweden under any circumstances let alone with nukes. Anything that can hit the USSR can hit France or Britain, no way they can realistically hit the USA or China. The butterflies needed for the Swedes to fear nukes from the UK or France, let alone the US or China are so large. If Sweden was part of the WP and communist they might fear NATO, on the other hand the USSR is not going to let any WP nations have their own nukes.
 
Systems chosen need to be on par with Polaris and Pershing to allow...
Why?
Both of them are far more accurate and long range (and therefore expensive) than Sweden would need, Sweden cant hope to win a counterforce fight its just a deterrent to hit Soviet cities as,
Sweden need only make it clear that they can cost the USSR way more than they would want to spend to attack them. Trading Leningrad, Murmansk, Moscow for Stockholm (or even glazing all of Sweden) is not an exchange the USSR would care to make.
 
I've seen it suggested that Sweden basically had a choice between nukes and an independent air force (e.g. building their own world-class fighter planes). Having a bomb if you have to buy US planes to use them sucks. Especially if you want to be neutral.

That said, Sweden and Canada are two countries that had independent nuclear reactor development and enough physicists and engineers to make nuclear weapons production 'trivial' (i.e. a matter of a) wanting to and b) being willing to spend the money).

In a world where 'non-proliferation' never takes hold, Sweden might very well have developed the Bomb. Even, perhaps, if it meant having to buy foreign planes.
 
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