Sweden to Install Mobile Alert System for Air Raids

Sweden will install a mobile phone alert system to warn citizens in the event of air raids, particularly during wartime. This initiative is inspired by a similar system used in Ukraine.

Sweden already has an external alarm system with approximately 4,500 sirens installed on buildings. The new system, called SE Alert, will complement the existing one.

In the event of an air raid, mobile phones connected to the Swedish telecommunications network will automatically emit audible alert messages, alarms, and vibrate.

The system, expected to be developed over the next six months, could also be used for serious peacetime crises, such as nuclear or chemical accidents.

The agency is also working with the Swedish military to develop an application that will allow citizens to photograph unmanned aerial vehicles and notify the authorities. Sweden is strengthening its civil preparedness measures following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Henrik Larsson, head of the population protection department at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, stated that Russia would destroy the external alarm system, as seen in Ukraine.