The government has decided to initiate negotiations with the French Naval Group regarding the purchase of four frigates.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) describes the upcoming deal as one of the largest Swedish defense investments since the Gripen fighter jet in the 1980s.
A frigate is estimated to cost around SEK 10 billion, but the price tag could be higher depending on how they are armed.
Fast delivery
The decisive factor in choosing the French frigates was that the first one could be delivered as early as 2030 and then one more per year. They are fully developed and in production. The reliability of delivery is considered to be high.
It has also been crucial that the ships have an integrated and proven air defense. They will be equipped with long- and medium-range air-defense systems and are described as floating air defense against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and drones.
That is a tripling of Swedish air defense capabilities compared with today, says Kristersson.
The frigates are significantly larger than the corvettes Sweden currently has. They are 120 meters long compared to the corvettes' 72 meters and they are almost seven times heavier.
Sweden has not had such large combat ships since the last destroyers were decommissioned in the 1980s.
Will dominate
Supreme Commander (ÖB) Michael Claesson points out that NATO membership has raised Sweden's ambitions. The corvettes have been there to prevent an enemy from controlling the Baltic Sea. With the frigates, the goal is for NATO to control and dominate the area, he states.
Together with the seven corvettes, the frigates will secure maritime transport through the Baltic Sea to the Baltic States and Finland. With their advanced air defense, they will also be an important part of NATO's air defense for the entire region.
But the Swedish Navy must also be able to protect transports out in the North Atlantic, where the corvettes are too small.
Navy Chief Johan Norlén points out that the size of the frigates is necessary not only for advanced air defense but also for endurance.
If we are going to contribute to an aircraft carrier force in the Pacific for four and a half months, then we will need to have at least a hundred crew on board, he says.
Sweden has not made any demands on France to buy Swedish defense equipment as part of the deal. But the Prime Minister still believes that the deal will create more Swedish jobs. The frigates will be equipped with several Swedish systems, such as Saab's RBS15 anti-ship missile.
The Social Democrats are behind the purchase of French frigates, but want the Swedish defense industry to be more involved.
There is a list of Swedish products that should be included, but we believe that more should be included, says the party's defense policy spokesperson, Peter Hultqvist.
Facts: Frigate armament
The new Luleå-class frigates will be equipped with Swedish systems, including weapons.
These include the Saab-developed RBS15 anti-ship missile with a range of 300 kilometers, Torpedo 47 for anti-submarine warfare, the Trackfire remote-controlled weapon station, and the Giraffe radar.
Bofors produces 57- and 40-millimeter automatic cannons.
The air-defense missiles are the Franco-Italian Aster 30 and the European CAMM-ER.
The frigates will have anti-submarine warfare capabilities and a helicopter hangar to accommodate a naval helicopter on board.
A frigate is a warship that is between a destroyer and a corvette and has a displacement (the mass of the water displaced by the ship) of 1,000–5,000 tons.
During the sailing era, it was a smaller and faster-sailing ship than ships of the line.
Frigates are used to protect shipping at sea and can combat submarines, other ships, and aerial threats.
Sweden modified destroyers after World War II and reclassified them as frigates. The last ones were taken out of service in the late 1970s.
Source: NE
