ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses modern sea power, combined with a short overview of Sweden's cold-war naval history, recent and current operational patterns as an empirical basis for discussion of future structures for the Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN). The storm clouds leading up to the First World War could be seen forming and Sweden found herself in between the great power-blocs of the day. The concept of sea power as a component of a nation's maritime strategy has been developed, discussed and analysed for many centuries. Military technology also evolved so that network-centric concepts for warfare led to changing views on future conflicts. Optimistic views of the strategic changes in Europe in the 1990s led to a refocusing towards peace-support and crisis management operations for the Swedish Armed Forces. A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) deployed to the Seychelles has made important contributions in building up a Recognised Maritime Picture (RMP) in the North western Indian Ocean.
