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Modern defence: better smart than sexy?
This is the kind of investment that we think of
when talking about defence budgets: fighter jets and high-end equipment.
But with budgets tight, it's the more practical,
but less glamorous areas, which are adapting best
to the need for smart defence.
And if you're looking for an example of smart defence,
you can't do much better than this.
As NATO continues one of the biggest redeployments,
shifting a lot of equipment from one side of the world to the other,
several nations devised a smart way of carrying out the move.
This plane, funded by several countries,
has just come from Afghanistan as part of the redeployment from ISAF.
Now it will be unloading pieces of equipment
that have served over there and are now coming back over here.
Instead of each country buying the heavy lift equipment for this move,
equipment which may not be needed again for some time,
14 nations have got together to rent time on these huge Ruslan aircraft.
It's paid for under SALIS or Strategic Airlift Interim Solution.
This allows the countries to use the plane only when they need it.
This Czech equipment was being used in Logar just a few weeks ago.
It's been packed up and transported halfway round the world, via Baku.
It's arrived today and now it's back home in the Czech Republic.
Today we've come from Azerbaijan, Baku.
First we came there from Afghanistan, from Kabul,
with some cargo to bring here, some boxes with military cargo.
We airline all over the world,
but usually we have one or two aircrafts
which perform such flights from Afghanistan to Europe.
This move to share costs is one that
in this case both the military and politicians can see the benefit of.
I think this smart transport is a smart move,
both from a commercial point of view, a Russian-Ukrainian company,
as well as for the countries who have joined their forces.
These 14 NATO countries and 2 PfP countries,
who joined this initiative, SALIS,
that's quite a good example of how to put forces together
and money together for something, which we cannot afford
as single individual nations.
This works for non-NATO countries too.
One good example also in this region is the strategic airlift capacity
that we are able to participate in.
It's clear that Sweden would not be able to have that capacity
without being able to join that specific project.
The Ruslan example shows smart defence working,
but few are claiming that smart defence can always work.
If you decide to cooperate with some nation on a specific capability,
then of course you need to have a very good guarantee
that this capability will be provided to you at a time when you need it.