MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The current military and political reform is the largest in the history of the Swedish Armed Forces, Swedish Deputy Defense Minister Yvonne Gustafsson said at the defense committee of the State Duma lower house of Russian parliament on Monday.
She told Interfax-Military News Agency that changes in sphere of the Armed Forces development were primarily caused by changes in the global situation. The reform envisages the creation of a more flexible and competent protection from new challenges on the basis of high technologies, she said. Sweden abandons the position defense which used to dominate the country.
"The defense will become operational and mobile. Operational units including those aimed to eliminate nuclear, chemical and bacteriological strikes are being established," Gustafsson stressed.
The number of people annually recruited to active-duty service has been reduced from 40,000 to 25,000-30,000 in the course of the reform. The strength of civil personnel has decreased from 10,000 to 8,000.
The authorities have already managed to decrease the country's military budget by 0.5 percent of the GDP, Gustafsson went on.
Sweden does not plan transition to a professional army so far, for the maintenance of a professional army is heavy from the points of view of both expenses and personnel recruitment, the Swedish deputy defense minister said.
"We spend 50 percent of the military budget on procuring military hardware and armament," Gustafsson added.