Sweden prepares for a possible war by practicing the recovery and burial of fallen soldiers

Sweden has rehearsed a task it has not had to carry out in generations: managing large numbers of military dead after a hypothetical war. During Exercise Aurora 26, more than 500 mannequins and body bags represented soldiers killed in combat.

Around 300 members of the Swedish armed forces took part in this section of the training. They practiced the full chain of responsibility, from recovering and identifying bodies to notifying foreign embassies and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and finally arranging funerals with military honors.

The Swedish Church, the Swedish Tax Agency and the authority responsible for military recruitment supported the exercise. A military doctor recommended adapting medical equipment for situations involving large numbers of casualties. Separately, the Swedish Church has long maintained procedures for handling mass deaths. It remains legally responsible for burials and must be able to organize funerals for up to 5% of Sweden’s population, or about 500,000 people.

That figure dates from the Cold War and is not a current estimate of possible casualties. Still, the exercise reflects a broader shift in Sweden and across northern Europe. About 18,000 troops from 13 countries took part in Aurora 26, held between April and May, making it the largest exercise of its kind in Sweden since the early 1950s. One commander said he was proud to participate and recalled that a similar drill last took place in 1952.

Sweden has not fought a war since 1814 and remained neutral during both world wars and the Cold War. Its renewed military and civilian preparations therefore represent a major change for the armed forces, public authorities and society. Other northern European countries are also expanding crisis planning through joint exercises, drone-defense training, cross-border evacuation agreements and hospital drills for mass-casualty scenarios.

“

I am proud to have participated in this.