Oslo and Copenhagen have separately, and on the same day, confirmed significant additions to their naval forces, both aimed at strengthening surveillance and protection of undersea infrastructure and strategic maritime areas in the North European waters. breakingdefense.com/2025/12/norw...

STOCKHOLM — The Polish government has officially chosen the Swedish offer of Saab’s next-generation A26 Blekinge-class submarines for its long-awaited Orka submarine program, in what is expected to be a 10 billion Polish zloty ($2.52 billion) investment. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/pola...

🇸🇪 Sweden to pick partner for 4 new Luleå-class frigates (~120m, advanced AD, drones, NATO-compatible) by early 2026, DefMin Pål Jonson announces. 🇫🇷 France officially in the race, confirmed today alongside French DefMin Catherine Vautrin in Stockholm. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/swed...

With royal push, Sweden pitches Canada on economic benefits of buying Gripen breakingdefense.com/2025/11/with...

STOCKHOLM — As a NATO anti-submarine warfare exercise kicked off this week, top commanders said that with Sweden in the alliance, the Baltic Sea is now a “lake full of NATO submarines” under unified command. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/with...

It's never too late to join Substack! Subscribe to my newsletter on defense & security news from NATO's northern flank. Welcome aboard! substack.com/profile/1417...

COPENHAGEN — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson today signed a letter of intent laying the groundwork for Kyiv to make a massive purchase of anywhere from 100 to 150 Gripen E fighter jets from Swedih Saab. breakingdefense.com/2025/10/ukra...

STOCKHOLM — Sweden will participate in NATO’s annual nuclear military exercise for the first time, a major step for a nation that avoided military alliance for 200 years and has avoided nuclear entanglements entirely. breakingdefense.com/2025/10/swed...

Berlin revealed that it is considering Swedish defense firm Saab’s airborne early warning and control platform (AEW&C), Global Eye. France has already opted for the surveillance and command plane. breakingdefense.com/2025/09/germ...

🇸🇪 Sweden to phase out dev aid to Myanmar by June ‘26, redirecting focus to Ukraine. Move comes as conditions worsen under Myanmar’s junta. #Sweden #Myanmar #Ukraine #ForeignAid ➡️ www.regeringen.se/pressmeddela...

STOCKHOLM — Just three days after Sweden closed a $550 million deal with Bangkok for four Gripen E/F fighter jets, a high-level Peruvian delegation in search of its own more modern fighter fleet visited Stockholm to hold talks with their Swedish counterparts about Saab’s Gripen.

STOCKHOLM — Sweden and Thailand finalized an agreement today in which Bangkok will buy four Gripen E/F fighter jets from Swedish defense firm Saab, with an order value of around 5.3 billion Swedish kronor ($550 million USD).

STOCKHOLM — The foreign ministers of the Nordic nations as well as Canada today expressed strong, unified support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity amid Russia’s ongoing missile attacks on Ukraine, as well as a willingness to play a part in any future security guarantees for Kyiv.

STOCKHOLM — The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) told Breaking Defense that a formal signing ceremony is expected to take place later this month to mark Thailand’s acquisition of additional Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets. ➡️ breakingdefense.com/2025/08/swed...

STOCKHOLM – The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has confirmed that Saab Gripen fighter aircraft were used against Cambodia over the weekend, marking the first-known weapons launch in combat from the Swedish jet. ➡️ breakingdefense.com/2025/07/afte...

STOCKHOLM — Sweden has signed contracts worth over 5 billion Swedish kronor ($523 million) for artillery ammunition, marking its largest investment in such munitions since the 1980s. ➡️ breakingdefense.com/2025/07/swed...

Russia’s new navy vessel ‘Vice Admiral Burylychev’ launched in the Baltic Sea in July. It joins the MoD’s GUGI fleet for undersea surveillance & seabed warfare. militarnyi.com/uk/news/rosi...

STOCKHOLM — Sweden has launched a major procurement to bolster air defense capabilities in the Baltic Sea region. The initiative includes medium- and short-range missile systems, radars, command infrastructure and vehicle platforms. ➡️ breakingdefense.com/2025/06/swed...

Explore the world’s nuclear forces in 2025! ~2,100 warheads are on high alert. SVT’s interactive story, now in its 7th year, tracks warheads, their carriers, & modernization in 9 nuclear-armed states: 🇷🇺🇺🇸🇨🇳🇫🇷🇬🇧🇵🇰🇮🇳🇮🇱🇰🇵 ➡️ www.svt.se/datajournali...

Just days before NATO is set to gather for its high-profile summit at The Hague, Sweden today revealed it would delay its goal of hitting 3.5% GDP defense spending until up to 2032 — the timeline officials said is likely to be agreed upon by NATO allies next week. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/swed...

STOCKHOLM — Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO will enhance the alliance’s missile defense posture through geographical and operational depth, allowing for the deployment of more air defense systems. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/scan...

Swedish SVT published a fancy infographic of our global nuke arsenal data from the SIPRI Yearbook just published today. www.svt.se/datajournali...

STOCKHOLM — China has boosted its nuclear arsenal by 100 warheads in just one year, growing from an estimated 500 to over 600 warheads in 2025, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). breakingdefense.com/2025/06/chin...

Visited Uppsala University for the fascinating #AlvaMyrdal2025 conference this week. Paintings of Swedish war kings gave perspective. Stories on #nukes, #missiles, & #scandinaviadefense coming soon. Stay tuned ⚡️⚡️⚡️

The multinational air combat exercise Arctic Challenge (ACE), scheduled to take place this week in Luleå, northern Sweden, has been canceled. The U.S. Air Force will not be attending, according to public broadcaster SVT. 1/4 www.svt.se/nyheter/loka...

The terror threat level in Sweden is lowered from four to three on a five-point scale. This means a reduction from a high threat to an elevated threat, according to the Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) at a press conference on Friday. omni.se/10-00-sapo-h...

STOCKHOLM — Berlin’s military expenditures soared to $88.5 billion in 2024, positioning it as the world’s fourth-largest military spender and the highest in Central and Western Europe for the first time since Germany’s reunification in 1990. breakingdefense.com/2025/04/germ...

Finland’s deputy army chief warns: Russia is building new infrastructure on our shared 1,340km border, preparing for post-Ukraine war. Few in Europe watch Moscow as closely as Finland does. 🇫🇮🇷🇺 www.welt.de/politik/ausl...

The Swedish Government has directed the Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) to collaborate with Finland on a joint plan for cross-border mass evacuations, including exercises to enhance readiness and coordination for crises or armed threats.

Sweden is planning a jump in defense spending to 3.5 percent of its GDP, in line with what the nation’s prime minister expects will be a new NATO-wide spending target. breakingdefense.com/2025/03/swed...

Hey, dropped a deep dive on Macron’s nuclear pitch to Europe last week—yep, it’s on Spotify, because why not listen to geopolitical chess moves while you’re pretending to work out? If you’re into that whole “English version” thing, hit me up! open.spotify.com/episode/5lS0...

Check out my latest article on President Macron's nuclear offer to Europe, featuring @walberque & @nukestrat. Full details here: kvartal.se/artiklar/sa-... #Macron #NuclearEurope"

US nuclear umbrella holds strong in Stockholm. A nuclear-capable B-52 flew low over the Swedish capital at noon today, escorted by Swedish fighter jets, marking one year since Sweden officially joined NATO.

Honored to be published in Kvartal ’s annual edition, a concentrate of the best from 2024. My article on security policy—Sweden’s key issue with the U.S.—draws from Heritage Foundation’s 900-page manifesto, now reflected in Trump 2.0. Support Kvartal: order the print via link in comments.

Sweden presents its biggest military aid package to Ukraine yet. It also includes weapons for Russia’s next likely target, Moldova, to “constrain Russia’s … ability to do harm” says defense minister Pål Jonson.

Sweden’s new $1.2B donation to Ukraine includes drones, missiles and boats The package also includes anti-tank weapons for Moldova, seen as another country in Putin's crosshairs. breakingdefense.com/2025/01/swed...

⚡️⚡️⚡️ Ship seized in the Baltic Sea suspected of gross sabotage of communication cable between Sweden and Latvia. tt.omni.se/fartyg-i-bes...

New Defence Secretary Hegseth's message to the U.S. Armed Forces. Russia and Putin are not specifically attributed as aggressor. (1:3) www.defense.gov/News/Release...

Saturday morning, 600 Swedish troops arrived in Riga to bolster NATO's presence in Latvia, marking Sweden's first ground mission as a formal NATO ally. They'll fortify the border with Russia for the next 6 months. 🇸🇪🇱🇻 #NATO #Sweden #Latvia tt.omni.se/svenska-nato...

While the hearing didn't dive into foreign policy, Hegseth offered up a peak into weapon programs that may get more attention. breakingdefense.com/2025/01/pete...

In one of the largest Swedish weapons deals in the post-Cold War era, the government has announced a $1.97 billion contract on purchasing 44 new Leopard 2 A8 tanks and upgrading its 66 existing older Leopard 2 tanks. breakingdefense.com/2025/01/swed...

17 years after it began design and development, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has completed work on the B61-12 nuclear warhead (50 kt blast). The last production unit of the upgraded warhead was completed on Dec 18. B61-13 is next (360 kt) breakingdefense.com/2025/01/us-c...

⚡️⚡️⚡️ Finnish Police confiscates the Eagle S tanker, which is currently being moved to a protected anchorage in Porvoo, Yle reports. It's a more suitable location for the investigation of suspected sabotage of an underwater cable in the Gulf of Finland during Christmas.

Interesting to read Lars-Erik De Geer's new book on the Soviet submarine S363 (Whiskey-on-the-Rocks), which ran aground in 1981 near Karlskrona. According to the author, the likely plan was to place nuclear charges on the seabed. 🧵

4 Swedish Air Force C-130 Hercules spotted in formation over Stockholm during lunch break! These workhorses, purchased from the US in the '60s, have seen numerous upgrades. Their days are numbered, as they're set to be replaced by Embraer C-390s. Meanwhile, Brazil is looking to secure more Gripens.