Defense: Sweden chooses France to purchase four frigates

It had been four decades since Sweden had ordered ships of this scale. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the operation Sweden’s largest military investment since the 1980s. The withdrawal of the Östergötland-class destroyers from service in the 1980s ended the presence of large capable Swedish surface units. to operate beyond the Baltic.

Sweden’s membership in NATO and the deterioration of the security environment in the Baltic Sea have highlighted the absence of deep-sea escort and area air defense capabilities of the Svenska Marinen. It is difficult in this context to continue to ignore first-rate frigates.

 

The IDF, a frigate « ready for combat »

On May 19, Sweden announced its intention to order four FDIs from Naval Group as part of the program called “ class LuleÃ¥ HAS”. These ships are not laboratory prototypes. The first two units, the Admiral Ronarc’h for the French Navy and the Kimon for the Hellenic Navy, have already been delivered. Sweden will therefore benefit from already proven technology.

 

A tight schedule

The official objective is to have two buildings in service ideally by 2030 and two more by 2035. To achieve this, the FDI presents a decisive advantage. Its production line is already well established, which limits the risks of industrial delays which have plagued so many other major arms programs. On a technical level, the ship is impressive. It has a displacement of 4,500 tonnes for a length of 122 meters, the FDI is equipped with a hull sonar, a towed sonar, an electronic warfare suite, vertical launchers for Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles, a 76 mm turret and anti-ship missiles Exocet.

 

The Baltic, theater of all tensions

« The Baltic Sea has never, in modern times, been so exposed, questioned and disputed as it is today », a déclaré Ulf Kristersson during the government press conference. Sweden, which joined NATO in March 2024, has been strengthening its military tools since the start of the war in Ukraine. The Supreme Commander Michael Claesson also stressed that the ships will be able to operate well beyond Swedish borders and that this acquisition is important for Sweden’s future participation in NATO operations.

 

A diplomatic victory as much as an industrial one

On the French side, the satisfaction is palpable. Naval Group won against the British-Swedish Babcock-Saab tandem which offered its Arrowhead 120 frigate. The Swedish Minister of Defense Paul Jonson highlighted the speed of delivery, technical maturity and a proven air defense system to justify this choice. The choice of Stockholm was welcomed by the president Emmanuel Macronhere to declare « I thank Sweden and I appreciate the confidence placed in France. After the choice made by France to equip itself with Saab’s GlobalEye to renew its fleet of AWACS radar aircraft, this is a major strategic decision, which reflects the mutual trust between our two countries. »

For Naval Group, this order brings the total number of FDIs sold to 13. 5 for France, 4 for Greece and now 4 for Sweden. The French frigate is thus gradually establishing itself as a reference within European navies that are members of NATO, which was not a foregone conclusion ten years ago.

 

– Budget total : around 3.7 billion euros (40 billion Swedish crowns)
– Unit cost : around 10 billion crowns per ship (according to Defense Minister PÃ¥l Jonson)
– Calendar : first deliveries from 2030, last deliveries in 2035