Swedish and Austrian Contribution to a Common European Union Armed Force – a Comparative Approach of Air Forces

Sammanfattning: The call for a common armed force within the EU has become insistent as increased worldwide threats emerge. A unified EU with a strong common force would be considered to convey a clear message to a possible aggressor that we are serious in defending our European values. Common military structures are available but only on a small scale and with restrained commonality. Further cooperation and the option to contribute between nations’ military forces could form the common military armed force that is of great importance to the EU as a strong global power. This thesis examines the possibility of Sweden’s and Austria’s Air Forces to contribute to a common EU Air Force. Using research into the cultural and logistical interoperability of fighter aircraft and airbases within the nations’ air forces, the option to contribute to a common military structure was investigated. Further, research of the EU Member States’ air force organisations was conducted to examine the commonality between all of the EU nations, which then were compared to Sweden and Austria. To answer these questions the author used qualitative and quantitative methods in the form of expert interviews and the collection of data from open sources. The research was implemented with a theory model of interoperability, constructed by Michael Codner, to examine the possibility and level of cooperation. The results of this thesis indicate that interoperability between the Swedish and Austrian Air Forces exists; however, results show that the Austrian Air Force has a greater capacity for interoperability with other air forces. The conclusion of this thesis states that the Swedish and Austrian Air Forces can contribute to a common EU Air Force.