Sweden and France today signed a landmark contract for four FDI frigates for the Royal Swedish Navy. The future Luleå-class is set to transform the Svenska marinen and balance crewed capabilities with uncrewed systems.
In a landmark ceremony on August 31, 2026, Sweden and France officially signed a contract for the procurement of four Defense and Intervention Frigates (FDI) for the Royal Swedish Navy. The agreement was formalized in Stockholm, aboard the first-in-class FDI Frigate of the French Navy, by Mikael Granholm, Director-General of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), and Pierre Éric Pommellet, Chairman and CEO of Naval Group. The signing took place in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, sealing an exclusive negotiation process that began less than four months ago when Sweden chose the FDI design for its future Luleå-class surface combatants.
The rapid procurement—with the first frigate scheduled for delivery in 2030—leverages Naval Group’s active production line, which has already delivered FDI warships to the French and Hellenic navies. Beyond vessel delivery, the agreement establishes a long-term industrial partnership involving significant technology transfer to Swedish defense firms.
In tandem with the ship procurement, Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson and French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin signed a broader bilateral framework agreement to establish a long-term strategic platform for operational and industrial defense cooperation between the two nations.
Expanding the Royal Swedish Navy’s Mission in a Post-NATO Accession Era
Writing in an opinion piece published today in Svenska Dagbladet (SvD), the Chief of the Royal Swedish Navy, Rear Admiral Johan Norlén, highlighted the strategic necessity behind the acquisition. Following Sweden’s accession to NATO, the navy’s operational scope has expanded dramatically beyond territorial defense. The service is now tasked with maintaining operational control over the Baltic Sea and its approaches to guarantee critical sea lines of communication for Sweden and its regional allies, including Finland and the Baltic states.
To meet these demanding multi-domain mission profiles—spanning the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the High North—large surface combatants with extended reach and heavy firepower are required. Equipped with advanced sensor suites and combining Aster 30 and CAMM-ER surface-to-air missiles, the Luleå-class FDI frigates will provide Sweden with multi-layered air defense capable of defeating modern airborne threats, ranging from massed drone swarms to high-velocity ballistic missiles.
“This is a strategically important investment that strengthens Sweden’s defense capability,”
Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson.
“The four frigates will triple Sweden’s current air defense capability. This is essential to Sweden’s security and NATO’s capability.”
Clarification on Naval Cruise Missile
Several French media outlets reported that the Swedish FDI would be equipped with MBDA’s Naval Cruise Missiles, marking the first export contract for the system. Two sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed to Naval News that it is not the case just yet: The contract signed today doesn’t include the SYLVER A70 vertical launching system necessary to launch the cruise missile. The Lulea-class frigates, as per the contract signed today, will be fitted with SYLVER A50 to launch Aster family missiles, and the new SYLVER Cold Launch to deploy CAMM-ER.
Naval News understands the contract for the weapons package of the Swedish FDIs will be signed at a later date, and discussions on Naval Cruise Missiles were initiated only very recently between France and Sweden. Sweden is likely to follow the Hellenic Navy model: “The contract will include an option to swap one A50 VLS module with an A70 one in order to possibly give a land-attack cruise missile capability to the Luleå-class, if the Swedish side wishes to do so sometime in the future,” a source explained. This option remains conditional.
French President Emmanuel Macron himself used the conditional when mentioning this topic today aboard the French frigate Amiral Ronarc’h:
“By equipping Swedish frigates with the Aster missile and possibly the Naval Cruise Missile, France is not merely delivering ships—it is also providing a capability to protect the territories of our friends.”
French President Emmanuel Macron
Crewed Frigates and Uncrewed Platforms: A Complementary Doctrine
Addressing ongoing debates over whether navies should transition entirely toward uncrewed architectures, Rear Admiral Norlén emphasized that future maritime warfare relies on a hybrid force structure:
“uncrewed where possible, crewed where required.”
Chief of the Royal Swedish Navy, Rear Admiral Johan Norlén
Drawing from direct discussions with Ukrainian naval leaders and insights from Black Sea operations, Swedish defense planners noted that while uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) have successfully denied areas to enemy forces, larger crewed warships—such as the Ada-class corvettes Ukraine ordered from Türkiye—remain indispensable for enforcing sea control, escorting commercial shipping, and protecting maritime infrastructure. Furthermore, combat lessons from Western naval deployments in the Red Sea demonstrate that modern, well-equipped warships operated by highly trained crews are vital for intercepting complex air attacks.
The new FDI frigates will serve as the backbone of this strategy, deploying their own uncrewed systems to form a networked, persistent force designed to secure the Baltic Sea region in peace, crisis, and wartime.
Swedish content aboard Luela-class and delivery timeline
According to an FMV release, the Luela-class will be fitted with several Swedish systems, including RBS15, Torpedo 47, Giraffe 1X, 57mm and 40mm naval guns, as well as Trackfire. FMV added that air defense and anti-submarine warfare are two core capabilities for the new frigates.
Deliveries are planned to take place between 2030 and 2034:
- HMS Luleå – 2030
- HMS Norrköping – 2032
- HMS Trelleborg – 2033
- HMS Halmstad – 2034
“I would like to extend a warm thank you to our team at FMV and to the French team at Naval Group. It has been an exceptionally intense negotiation process that has resulted in a strong contract enabling us to receive the first vessel delivered in 2030,” said Mikael Granholm, Director-General of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV)
“I am delighted to be in Stockholm today to sign the contract for the delivery of four FDI frigates to Sweden, a major milestone in the cooperation between our two countries. It is an honour to put our expertise at the service of the Swedish Royal Navy’s sovereignty and naval superiority, and I would like to thank the Swedish authorities for their trust. Naval Group is already fully involved and committed to the delivery of this major project,” said Pierre Éric Pommellet, Chairman and CEO of Naval Group.
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