From a USN perspective, a good use of CBUs is to create a mission kill on ships (once their air threat has been eliminated by HARM). The bomblets wreak havoc with topside equipment like missile tubes and gun mounts. And the ones that miss or fail to explode just go into the ocean…where they hopefully aren’t eaten by a whale …that would be just our luck.
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They’re not even taken care of well in peacetime. UXO is a big thing stateside on posts.
I suspect that as tech has improved, cluster munitions, mines, etc. aren’t really needed to get the same effectiveness. Just took some time for Sweden to trade out doctrine and adjust to the peace dividend and all that jazz.
I have to chip in as Finland’s defence used to be very much based on the same principle. The change wasn’t so much about updating to the latest doctrine, but about politics.
We have a long land border with a historically expansive country. We can’t realistically win a sustained all-out conflict so, together with providing basic military training for all male population, the mapped / planned minefields (that would only get planted if the political situation deteriorates) were an affordable tool in the defensive strategy toolbox. Make the neighbor think twice about the cost of victory against a prickly defender who already has fended your superior numbers off twice in the past.
The infantry mine was removed from the defensive toolkit by our politicians in an era when the foreign politics of our corner of the world were relatively calm and there was pressure from the (western) international community to ‘do the right thing’. I daresay that decision would not have been made in today’s climate.
This gets a bit close to politics so I’ll stop there - but yeah, in terms of doctrine, it’s actually hard to beat mines when you want to appear to be able to defend 2000 kms of forest-covered border terrain and unpaved roads from a numbers-superior adversary and wish to make yourself a purely defensive ‘threat’…and you’re not made of money.
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That got posted almost a month ago, about ten posts above yours. Just FYI.
just saw that. hm. so any other news in the recent days ? 
Just for grins I went up against an AI F/A-18 in the Viggen, AIM-9s and guns. Fun turning match, though the Kentucky windage on the pods made it a lot more interesting!
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And now for something completely different. (I couldn’t get the Monty Python gif to work so you will have to imagine it)
Being a former intel guy, I am interested with the Viggen’s recce capabilities…except I cannot get it to work…obviously operator. I’ve read through the manual several times… and I think it come down to a translation issue…but since we are talking about Swedish acronyms, Google isn’t much help.
So for @Troll…
SPA/MAL (the A with the thing above it) and SPA/SKU?
From the manual, the first means “measurement” which I take is Lat/Long. The second means tracking.
The manual isn’t clear on procedure, this is what I thought (but didn’t works
1 - in SPA mode, see a ship on radar
2 - T0 to T1, get the crosshairs.
3 - move the crosshairs over the target, T1 to TV
…and nothing happens.
Assumptions (probably bad ones): Once you put the radar you are in SAP/MAL mode. So any target you select (TV) should automatically be added to the target list & get a Red S designation.
This came to light yesterday, mission 1 of the Viggen campaign. I was trying to lock ship blips as targets so I could get steering cues. Wasn’t working. I’m still trying when I must have done something…maybe passed the crosshairs over the suspect ship? Regardless, no ship within at least 30 km and my wingman announces “Target Identified. Good job. Let’s head back to base for some akvavit!” Or something like that.
Problem was that he was supposed to be getting ELINT off the ship…I was getting nothing on my RWR so I pressed in until it started to beep. (Plus I keep a bottle of akvavit in my Viggen so I was in no hurry to RTB).
I think that if I better understand the Swedish acronyms, I can figure this out.
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First things first…
We drink Absolut.
Akvavit is for Norwegians!
SPA=Spaning=Recon
MÅL is not an acronym. It’s a classic Swedish Börk word. It can mean meal or goal, but in this case it means target… WHAT!?! I saw those rolling eyes!
Can’t remember what SKU means… Need to check it up.
In the meantime, maybe this can help?
May the Börk be with you!
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I drink Absolute too…the plain stuff, not the fruity “Orange and Mango” flavors they have now.
…but yo do live in Norway so…and are married to a Norwegian…so do you just mix the two for cocktails? 
Regardless - I think I found the answer in the link you sent - thank you for that. I felt like I was missing a step and evidently I was.
After setting the radar mode to SPA, I was supposed to press the L/MAL button and do it BEFORE I made the target fix. I assume that since the radar isn’t in NAV or one of the Landing modes, then that button operates the MAL function. Same goes for tracking (course/speed)-press the Ls/SKU button.
SKU…Speed and Course?…we abbreviate CRS/SPD.
The Börk is with me…I give Börk related callsigns to all my Viggen pilots - myself and AI.
Personal favorite “Börk-a-Boom” 
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Although, the blackcurrant wasn’t half bad…
No! I’m not insane… Not clincally, at least.
KU may indeed be Kurs (Course).
S may be Styr (Steer(ing)) as in Styr kurs.
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The blackcurrant one is indeed ok. I once bought a bottle - great for curing colds!
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I will give you that! In fact I think that is the flavor that I use in the hot summer months. I mix a couple shots into a nice glass of unsweetened ice tea with a slice of lemon.
The absolute worst (no pun intended) is the cilantro flavor. Just horrible. What were they thinking? 
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Seriously, can you picture in your head what the tasting department of a vodka company looks like after 20 minutes?
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I like it that the Viggen thread is considered to be the right place for all things Nordic, such as vodkas. Blackcurrant Absolut? Eh, basically part of the Viggen pilots’ formal post flight recovery package → totally related.
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Which is yet another very strong reason for ED to develop a North Cape map…Kola Peninsula to @Troll’s house. So many possibilities…
…maybe get ED into a strategic partnership with Absolute…think of the advertisement possibilities!
“Hi, I’m Hangar200. I’m not a fighter pilot but I play one on the computer. When I wrap up a tough Viggen mission, I like to relax with a nice Absolute martini…or two…or more. Absolute! The official Vodka of DCS.”
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You do know ED is in Russia, right…?
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Yes, I do. Which would make getting Absolute the official Vodka of DCS, such a coup’! …we need some crowd sourcing.
The new (to me) light glitch and the fact it keeps parking me backwards in the hanger is starting to really crap my style on a project I’m working on.
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At least it’s the one dcs aircraft that can actually power backwards though…
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