Sweden rehearses mass-casualty logistics in major Aurora 26 drill
Sweden carried out a large-scale mortuary-focused exercise as part of Aurora 26, testing the full chain from recovery to burial of fallen soldiers with 300 personnel and 500 mannequins, illustrating Sweden's shift from neutrality to a 'total defence' posture after joining NATO in 2024; the Church of Sweden maintains a mandate to plan burial capacity at 5% of the population, a Cold War benchmark not a forecast, while NATO and allied forces conducted the exercise across Gotland and the Baltic region to rehearse worst-case scenarios and readiness.