Sweden Selects France’s Naval Group To Supply 4 FDI Frigates In $5 Billion Deal

Sweden has selected France’s Naval Group to build four FDI frigates for the Royal Swedish Navy in a deal worth around 40 billion Swedish kronor ($4.2-$5 billion).

The frigates, which will form Sweden’s new Luleå class, will give the country long-range air-defence and NATO operational capabilities that its current Visby-class corvettes cannot provide.

Swedish leaders linked the decision to rising regional tensions, growing Russian missile threats, and NATO operational requirements following Sweden’s entry into the alliance in 2024.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the purchase would triple Sweden’s air-defence capability and become one of the country’s biggest defence investments since the Gripen fighter programme in the 1980s.

Defence Minister Pål Jonson said fast delivery was one of the main reasons behind the decision because of the “very serious security situation” in Europe.

Sweden selected the French FDI frigate over proposals from Spain’s Navantia and Britain’s Babcock International.

According to Swedish officials, the French offer was chosen because the frigate design is already operational, production is already underway, and the ships provide a proven long-range air-defence system integrated with NATO networks.

The first frigate is expected to be delivered in 2030, with one ship arriving every year after that.

The deal marks a major change in Swedish naval strategy. For years, Sweden focused on smaller stealth corvettes designed mainly for coastal defence in the Baltic Sea.

The new frigates will allow Sweden to operate across NATO’s area, including escort missions, anti-submarine warfare, missile defence, and protection of maritime reinforcement routes in Northern Europe.

Swedish military leaders said larger warships are now needed for longer deployments and for operations outside the Baltic region.

The FDI frigate, known in French as Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention, is already entering service with the French and Greek navies.

Sweden considered this important because it reduced development risks and ensured faster delivery.

France’s lead ship Amiral Ronarc’h entered service in 2025, while Greece received its first FDI frigate earlier this year.

France also strengthened its position during the competition by sending the frigate Amiral Ronarc’h to Sweden earlier this year for evaluation by Swedish military officials.

France recently ordered Swedish-made GlobalEye airborne early warning aircraft from Saab, while Sweden said further defence cooperation with France could follow.

The frigates will combine French hull and radar systems with Swedish weapons and subsystems.

Stockholm plans to integrate Saab’s RBS-15 anti-ship missiles, Torped 47 lightweight torpedoes, Giraffe G1X radar systems, and BAE Systems Bofors naval guns onto the vessels.

The 122-metre FDI frigate displaces around 4,500 tonnes and is equipped with Thales’ Sea Fire AESA radar and vertical launch systems capable of firing MBDA’s Aster 30 long-range interceptors.

Swedish officials said the ships would also carry CAMM-ER medium-range missiles.

The Aster 30 system is designed to intercept aircraft, cruise missiles, and some ballistic missile threats, with Swedish military leaders comparing the capability to a “Patriot at sea” system integrated into NATO’s air-defence network.

The vessels are expected to feature a 32-cell vertical launch configuration and can support helicopter and unmanned aerial operations for anti-submarine warfare and reconnaissance missions.

References: defensenews, armyrecognition