Sweden

Sweden has chosen its future surface combatant, the Luleå class, its largest in decades, in the shape of the French FDI frigate. The unusual design, with its inverted bow, won out against rival warships from the United Kingdom (a vessel based on the Type 31 frigate) and Spain (the all-new ALFA 4000 frigate).

The announcement was made today on the deck of the stealthy Visby class corvette Härnösand. The Visby class is currently the largest surface combatant used by the Swedish Navy, but it will be dwarfed by the Luleå class. While the Visby class has a displacement of 705 tons and a length of 238 feet 6 inches, the French design has a displacement of 4,390 tons and is 400 feet 3 inches long.

According to reports, the Defense Materiel Administration (FMV), Sweden’s defense procurement organization, chose the French design primarily based on its advanced integrated combat systems and the maturity of the design. As you can read about here, the first example for the French Navy began sea trials in late 2024.

15.09.2025 : Départ de la FDI Amiral Ronarc’h de Lorient

Thirdly, Sweden factored the speed of delivery into the equation. This last point reflects the urgency of the requirement, as the country looks to rebuild its naval power since joining NATO and against the resurgent Russian threat.

While Sweden had long been looking for a next-generation warship to follow on from the Visby class, it originally envisaged a more modest design, with four air defense corvettes based on the Visby design. Since then, the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Sweden’s joining NATO have changed the security landscape dramatically.

When it first pitched its FDI frigate for the program, France had offered to supply Sweden with the first fully equipped warship in 2030, a notably bold timeline. Unlike the rival offers, Naval Group is already building the FDI warships — meaning Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention, or Defense and Intervention Frigate — at its yard in Lorient. Sweden expects to receive one vessel per year starting in 2030.

Despite choosing an off-the-shelf foreign design, there will be industrial benefits for Sweden, with local defense contractors, in particular, Saab, involved in kitting out the warships.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson today heralded the selection of the new warship as “tripling the Swedish [ground- and surface-based] air defenses.” The frigates were always expected to focus heavily on anti-air warfare capabilities, something that’s of growing interest to the Swedish Navy and the importance of which has been underscored by recent conflicts.

For Sweden in particular, a new frigate with enhanced anti-air warfare capabilities will be better able to protect itself, other vessels, and even shore areas or islands, against threats from the air. The overwhelming numbers of crewed aircraft, drones, and missiles that Russia could potentially put up in a conflict involving Sweden have been a significant concern even before the country joined NATO.

The Luleå class will swap out some of the original French combat systems found in the baseline FDI frigate and replace these with locally made equipment.

However, for its critical air defense role, Swedish Minister of Defence Pål Jonsson confirmed that the Luleå class will be armed with two types of missiles from the pan-European MBDA. The first of these is the Aster 30, which, as we have described in the past, is the primary anti-air weapon of the French FDI. In its baseline form, the FDI hull can accommodate 16 Aster missiles in a pair of eight-cell launchers — later vessels will be able to carry 32 by doubling the number of launchers.

The Aster 30 is able to engage targets at more than 75 miles. Recent improvements to the Aster 30 include enhancing its capabilities against anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs), a relatively new type of threat.

Aster 30 will be complemented by the CAMM-ER, the extended-range version of the Common Anti-air Modular Missile that is being added to the five Visby class corvettes, to expand their anti-air warfare capabilities. The CAMM-ER surface-to-air missile can engage a wide variety of threats out to a range of around 25 miles.

In terms of anti-ship missiles, the Swedish boats will carry the locally made RBS 15 instead of the MM40 Exocet on the French ships.

Polish Navy demonstrates the excellence of RBS15

As well as an onboard helicopter, anti-submarine firepower will be entrusted to the Swedish Torped 47 instead of the MU90. This new, lightweight torpedo has recently been tested by the Swedish Navy, being fired from a corvette, and during live-fire exercises from a submarine, as seen in the video below.

Torped 47 – den nya lätta

With its long track record of naval artillery, Sweden will provide the Bofors 57mm instead of the OTO 76mm, while the Bofors 40 Mk 4 will be used as the close-in weapon system (CIWS) in place of the 21-tube RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM). The Bofors 40 Mk 4 can fire Bofors 3P (Pre-fragmented, Programmable, Proximity-fused) ammunition, which can be programmed in six different modes to provide
optimised effect against different targets, including airbursts against aerial drones.

BAE Systems Bofors 3P Counter UAS ammunition

Smaller-caliber guns will be fitted in the form of the Saab Trackfire 12.7mm remote weapon stations (RWS), replacing the Lionfish 20 or Narwhal 20mm.

At this stage, it appears that the French-made SETIS combat management system will be retained on the Swedish warships and not replaced with a local equivalent, such as the Saab 9LV. However, the Sea Giraffe 1X radar, from the same firm, will reportedly be included in the sensor array. This would displace the original Thales Sea Fire radar found in the baseline FDI design and would extend air defense surveillance out to a significant range.

Choosing an existing French design means that Sweden will be able to share some of the costs of the program with other operators. As well as France, Greece is ordering the FDI design, and other potential customers include Sweden’s neighbor, Denmark. At the same time, operating common or very similar warship designs enhances interoperability, especially during joint operations.

The decision also further cements the military relationship between France and Sweden. Welcoming the Swedish choice, President of France Emmanuel Macron today wrote on X that it reflected the burgeoning defense partnership, which has also seen France select the Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) to replace its E-3F Sentry Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS) fleet, as well as Swedish participation in advanced deterrence. The latter refers to the forward deployment of nuclear-capable French Rafale fighters to Sweden, as European NATO members look at bolstering their deterrence capabilities independent of the United States.

For the Swedish Navy, the primary area of operation has been the Baltic theater, an area of resurgent strategic relevance, as the host to regular and sometimes hostile Russian military activity, maritime, airborne, and also increasingly in the ‘gray zone’ or hybrid warfare.

Once the new Luleå class frigates arrive, starting in 2030, according to plans, the improved capabilities of these powerful vessels will not only bolster Swedish Navy operations in its traditional Baltic area of operations but also out into the wider North Atlantic region, reflecting Sweden’s developing military ambitions as it becomes a more established NATO member.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres and Liverpool forward Alexander Isak have been named in Sweden’s World Cup squad.

However, the summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States has come too soon for Tottenham forward Dejan Kulusevski, who misses out having not played this season because of a knee injury.

Sweden coach Graham Potter said it was difficult to leave out the 26-year-old.

“A very, very difficult decision in terms of where he [Kulusevski] has been and what he’s done over the last year, where he’s at in terms of his rehab with four and a half weeks to go to that first game,” Potter told a news conference.

Isak, 26, has also had an injury-hit campaign and has only started eight league matches for Liverpool since his £125m British record transfer from Newcastle last summer.

“We obviously hope he finishes the season in Liverpool with some game time,” added Potter. “Our challenge is to get Alex in the best moment of the season and for him to hit top form, because if he does, he’s a world-class player.”

Sweden endured a miserable qualifying campaign, finishing bottom of their group with two points, but their performance in the Nations League gave them a second chance and wins over Ukraine and Poland in the play-offs took them to the finals.

“It’s incredibly exciting – a huge honour for me,” said Potter, who became Sweden manager in October. “The positive response from our supporters has been fantastic, and now we’re looking forward to creating more memories together during the World Cup.”

Gyokeres and Isak are two of 11 British-based players in the squad, which also includes goalkeepers Viktor Johansson (Stoke) and Jacob Widell Zetterstrom (Derby) and defenders Hjalmar Ekdal (Burnley), Gabriel Gudmundsson (Leeds) and Victor Lindelof (Aston Villa).

Midfielders Yasin Ayari and Lucas Bergvall, who play for Brighton and Tottenham respectively have also been named, as have Newcastle winger Anthony Elanga and Celtic forward Benjamin Nygren.

Sweden are in Group F and play Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico on 14 June (03:00 BST, 15 June) before two games in the United States – against the Netherlands in Houston on 20 June and Japan in Dallas five days later (00:00 BST, 26 June).

Christian Magnuson paid extra for his preferred seat on a Scandinavian Airlines flight, only to find it had been reassigned – moments later, he spotted who was sitting in it

Whether you’re a seasoned globetrotter or preparing to board a plane for the first time in ages, most of us have our tried-and-tested routines for making the journey as pleasant as possible. This might include wearing a particular outfit, grabbing some food or a drink at the terminal, or pre-selecting your favourite seat on the flight. But when these arrangements fall through or take an unexpected turn, it can throw your entire day off.

This was precisely what happened to one passenger named Christian Magnuson, who, despite being a regular flyer who frequently posts snapshots of his journeys on social media, was left utterly bewildered when his seat was abruptly switched without any warning.

Chris went on to show evidence that he’d reserved seat 17C on his Scandinavian Airlines flight, explaining he had paid extra to secure a seat towards the rear of the aircraft on the route from Stockholm Arlanda airport to Kalmar, a city in southern Sweden.

However, when boarding time arrived, Christian discovered his seat had been unexpectedly switched to 5D. The confusion deepened as he stepped onto the aircraft, only to spot his original seat remaining vacant.

Nevertheless, he proceeded to make his way through the plane to his reassigned seat. It was at that moment something wholly unexpected happened.

“Then a convoy of cars pulled up and the King of Sweden boarded the airplane and sat in my seat,” he revealed in the caption of the post.

The footage captured King Carl XVI Gustav standing on the tarmac as Christian made his way down the aircraft steps after landing. A silver vehicle could be spotted in the distance, presumably waiting to collect the monarch from his journey.

Later that day, the royal family’s official Instagram account, ‘Kungahuset’, posted a photograph of the King alongside his eldest daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, clarifying the reason behind the King’s travels.

“Was it fair of them to kick me out of my seat with no compensation? I will say it was cool that he flew on a regular airplane but he took my seat!” Christian added in the caption of the post.

Viewers quickly flocked to the comments section to voice their opinions, with many praising the Swedish King for choosing to fly commercially. “Happened to me too and I’m just proud to have a monarchy not wasting our resources with a private jet,” one person said.

A second user wrote: “I think it’s awesome that the King flies commercial. Also, you have a cool story.”

Others also questioned why Christian should have received compensation, given he still secured a seat on the flight. “Well, the king is… the king,” one person argued. Someone else added: “Airline employee here, yes its fair since they need security personnel onboard. ARN – KLR is also a really short route.

“I would be happy and proud to give him my seat! It’s for his safety. He did not decide himself,” another user chipped in.

Scandinavian Airlines has been approached for comment.