With Sweden and Finland, NATO wouldn't just get bigger.The alliance would also get a firepower boost

[rpannier]

snip

The addition of Sweden and Finland to NATO would bring a lot to the alliance militarily – in the air, on land, at sea, and in the intelligence domain – according to Jim Townsend, a former Pentagon and NATO official.

For instance, Finland has one of the more powerful air forces in Europe, Townsend told Insider.

snip

And Sweden has in its arsenal of combat aircraft the Gripen fighters, a jet that the country previously claimed would excel at taking out Sukhoi aircraft. The Sukhoi aircraft flown by the Russians are notorious for their ability to maneuver in dogfights, but Sweden has said its jets have the edge.

snip

He added that both Sweden and Finland have "very professional and modern" navies, explaining that "they carry, in terms of sensors and shooters, quite an interoperable and capable mix of firepower." Swedish subs, for example, have demonstrated their effectiveness in naval war games.

https://www.businessinsider.com/sweden-and-finland-would-give-nato-a-firepower-boost-2022-5

Maybe this is why Hawley opposes Finland and Sweden getting into NATO

[dalton99a]

1. Hawley is a Russian operative.

[Celerity]

2. Saab JAS-39E Gripen

Length: 15.2 m (49 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 8.6 m (28 ft 3 in)
Height: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 30 m2 (320 sq ft)
Empty weight: 8,000 kg (17,637 lb)
Max take-off weight: 16,500 kg (36,376 lb)
Fuel capacity: 3,400 kg (7,500 lb) (internal); 4535 L (3537 kg) External with 3 drop tanks (2x1700L + 1x1135L)
Payload: 7,200 kg (15,900 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × General Electric RM16 (F414-GE-39E) afterburning turbofan engine, 61.83[478] kN (13,900 lbf) thrust dry, 98 kN (22,000 lbf) with afterburner

Performance

Maximum speed: 2,460 km/h (1,530 mph, 1,330 kn) +
Maximum speed: Mach 2
Combat range: 1,500 km (930 mi, 810 nmi) +
Ferry range: 4,000 km (2,500 mi, 2,200 nmi) +
Service ceiling: 16,000 m (52,000 ft)
g limits: +9 -3
Wing loading: 283 kg/m2 (58 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 1.04
Takeoff distance: 500 m (1,640 ft)
Landing distance: 600 m (1,969 ft)

Armament

Guns: 1 × 27 mm Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 120 rounds

Hardpoints: 10 (three hardpoints under fuselage, two under each wing, one on each wing tip, and one dedicated for FLIR / LD / Recon pod) with a capacity of 7,200 kg (15,900 lb), with provisions to carry combinations of:

Missiles:

9[citation needed] × IRIS-T (Rb.98), AIM-9 Sidewinder (Rb.74) or A-Darter
7 × MBDA Meteor (Rb.101)
2 × KEPD.350
6 × Rbs.15F anti-ship missile

Bombs:

7 × GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
8 × Mark 82 bombs
16 × GBU-39 SDB
12 × Alternative small-diameter glide bomb

Other:

1 × ALQ-TLS electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod
1 × Digital Joint Reconnaissance Pod
1 × Rafael Reccelite Reconnaissance Pod
1 × Litening III Targeting pod

Avionics

Selex ES-05 Raven AESA radar
Skyward-G IRST system
Air-to-air and air-to-surface tactical data link system
Wide Area Display (WAD) (single screen display)
Targo helmet mounted display (HMD)
ANVIS advanced night vision system/head up display (HUD)

[Irish_Dem]

3. Certainly an impressive little buggy.

Wouldn't mind a quick ride in it.

[Irish_Dem]

4. He flunked the RU asset training about how to be covert.

If you are going to be a Putin Puppet, you should try to be a bit clever about it.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

5. They also have the capacity to control Russian naval transit in and out of the Baltic Sea.

[Crunchy Frog]

6. It should dramatically improve the security of the three Baltic states.