Sweden drops windfarm plans over threat to missile-detecting radar

Concern over Russia missiles hiding in 'radar clutter' caused by turbines sinks Baltic Sea green energy project

Turbines at Lillgrund, Sweden's largest offshore wind farm. The Swedish government has rejected new 13 sites. Arterra

A major windfarm project has been rejected by Sweden over the “unacceptable consequences” that their turbines could block military radar detecting incoming Russian missiles and aircraft.

Thirteen offshore sites in the eastern Baltic Sea earmarked to produce renewable energy have now been vetoed by the government.

Pål Jonson, Sweden’s Defence Minister, said the warning time “in the event of a missile attack” would go from two minutes to just 60 seconds “with wind farms in the way”.

“Based on the assessment of the armed forces, building offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea would have unacceptable consequences for Swedish security,” Mr Jonson stated.

Russia concerns

“With war in close vicinity, Sweden finds itself in a serious security situation,” he warned. “Defence interests must carry significant weight when these kinds of decisions are made.”

With Sweden only joining Nato in March, forgoing its traditional neutrality following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country had a “special responsibility” within the alliance for Baltic Sea security.

A Russian Yar missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. EPA

Mr Jonson argued that Sweden’s military needed to be able to operate at full capability in the zones where the windfarms would have been built.

The government therefore rejected all 13 windfarms on its east coast, which faces towards Russia, including its exclave of Kaliningrad that lies just under 300km from Sweden and 500km from the capital, Stockholm.

Radar clutter

The main security issue was the wind turning the blades “make it really hard for radars [which] end up with a whole load of interference at low level going back onto the radar screen”, Nick Brown, a radar expert at Janes, the defence intelligence company, told The National.

The turbines added to the “clutter of the operating picture” and there were concerns that “if you don't pay attention to this particular area you might miss a cruise missile or a low-flying aircraft on its way in, because the radar will categorise it as a bad return from the wind farm”. He argued that windfarms give an enemy the chance “to hide in the clutter” they generate.

A man walks on the frozen Baltic Sea in front of a wind turbine. AFP

Submarine noise

Mr Jonson highlighted that the windfarms would reduce the country’s intelligence-gathering capabilities while also disrupting sensors used to detect submarines.

Because windfarms generate a lot of noise this could be used by submarines to “mask their own signature”, said Mr Brown.

“The Baltic is challenging because it’s full of noise from busy sea lanes so this just adds another layer of noise that operators need to filter out to detect submarines,” he added.

A MiG-31K fighter fitted with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. EPA

Kaliningrad threat

Mr Jonson also highlighted the proximity of “the heavily militarised Kaliningrad area” that he said was “important in this context”.

Russia has a vast array of weapons in its Baltic coast exclave that neighbours Poland and Lithuania, including the advanced Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles with a range of 2,500km.

It also has warplanes that can carry Kinzhal hypersonic missiles that can allegedly travel at 10 times the speed of sound, at more than 12,000kph. It is also said to have nuclear weapons stationed in the area.

Dr Sidharth Kaushal, the maritime specialist at the Rusi think tank, agreed that the turbines interfered with coastal radar on which the navy relies.

“This is an issue in the Baltic Sea where some of these sites are directly opposite the approaches to Kaliningrad, which the Swedish navy needs to monitor for obvious reasons.”

After several disagreements with power companies the navy had “put its foot down on the issue”, he added.

Windfarms UK

There have been substantial objections by Britain’s Ministry of Defence and the UK’s National Air Traffic Services that many of the almost 3,000 wind turbines around the country present a security threat.

However, the British government decided that the need for renewable energy outweighed the national security risks.

Sweden’s proposed windfarms would have been between Åland, the autonomous Finnish region, and Øresund, the strait between southern Sweden and Denmark.