"A series of recent articles in the country's press has ignited a debate on whether Sweden should make a fresh attempt to acquire the bomb — either alone or together with its new European allies in NATO," reports the British newspaper The Times.

The idea has now entered the country's political mainstream. However, scientists and experts are skeptical that Stockholm possesses the necessary technological and resource base to undertake such a project independently.

"A huge amount would need to be developed, including the entire infrastructure for producing the materials required for nuclear weapons, which would demand enormous investment. I think finding the necessary resources would be next to impossible," the article quotes nuclear weapons expert Martin Goliath as saying.

Sweden is not the first NATO country to consider producing its own nuclear weapons. In German expert circles, discussions involving politicians about the hypothetical possibility of developing such weapons also surface from time to time.