Macron seals $6 billion French frigate deal in Sweden
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French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson standing aboard a Swedish Navy CB90 fast assault craft in Stockholm, Sweden, on Aug 31.
PHOTO: AFP
- France and Sweden signed a €4.3 billion deal for Sweden to buy four French frigates to strengthen defence amid increasing Russian threats.
- The frigates will have advanced missiles, and Sweden will support France's nuclear deterrence programme to boost European security.
- Both countries aim to build a stronger, more independent European defence industry and explore further military cooperation, including aircraft projects.
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STOCKHOLM - President Emmanuel Macron on Aug 31 oversaw the signing of a €4.3 billion (S$6.3 billion) deal for Sweden to buy four French frigates as Paris and Stockholm seek to tighten cooperation against a backdrop of growing Russian threats.
Sweden is racing to boost its defences after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, with the Nordic country becoming a NATO member two years later.
Macron and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson oversaw the signing of the contract aboard the French frigate Amiral Ronarc’h, moored in Stockholm.
“We are sealing a major strategic partnership, one that is reciprocal, respectful and ambitious,” Macron said.
“This demonstrates the strength and importance of this European pillar of defence and how Franco-Swedish cooperation is becoming an essential component of it,” the French leader added.
European NATO allies worry about Washington’s wavering commitment to Europe’s defence under US President Donald Trump as Russia’s war against Ukraine grinds into its fifth year.
Macron and Kristersson stressed the need for greater European autonomy in defence.
“Everyone now knows that in Europe we must take greater responsibility for our own security,” Kristersson said.
“The European pillar of NATO is continuing to strengthen.”
The four frigates will be equipped with Aster 30 air-defence interceptor missiles and possibly naval cruise missiles for long-range strikes, Macron said.
‘Avenues for cooperation’
Sweden will help support a Paris-led nuclear deterrence scheme to bolster security on the continent, Macron added.
In March, Macron unveiled a programme under which France, the European Union’s only nuclear-armed country, would use its atomic stockpile to protect allies, including Sweden.
The two countries held their first meeting on nuclear cooperation in Paris in April.
“Work is continuing and intensifying,” the Elysee has said, without providing further details.
Sweden announced in May it would purchase four defence and intervention frigates from French shipbuilder Naval Group, with the first vessel scheduled for delivery in 2030.
France and Sweden, both boasting robust defence industries, expressed a desire to strengthen Europe’s defence industrial base in the face of overwhelming US dominance within NATO.
The goal is to create “a European defence ecosystem that is more resilient over time, more independent, more competitive, and that enables Europe to be fully sovereign,” Macron said.
This could notably involve joint fighter aircraft programmes following the collapse of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, the Elysee said on Aug 28.
“There are many possible avenues for cooperation,” the French presidency added, citing France’s aircraft engine manufacturing capabilities as one example.
The frigate deal follows France’s purchase in December of two GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft from Swedish defence giant Saab for more than one billion euros.
French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin and her Swedish counterpart Pal Jonson also signed a framework agreement aimed at strengthening defence cooperation. AFP
