France and Sweden sign defence roadmap as Naval Group positions FDI frigate for Swedish surface ship programme
The FDI frigate is being actively promoted for the Norwegian frigate requirement. (Photo: Naval Group)
A pact signed at the Paris Air Show has seen Sweden turn to the French FDI frigate to lead its next-gen surface combatant fleet amid shifting security dynamics in the Baltic Sea.
Sweden will procure four new future surface vessels, which are planned to enter service by the end of the decade.
The Luleå-class vessels (Luleå, Norrköping, Trelleborg, and Halmstad) will be approximately 100m long and displace about 3,000–4,000t, making them considerably larger than the Royal Swedish Navy’s (RSwN’s) existing 640t Visby-class corvettes. There has been speculation that the design was based on the Singaporean multi-role combat vessel, which Saab has been helping to build.
The Swedish navy currently operates a total of five Visby-class corvettes and two older Gävle-class corvettes, which first entered service in the
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