Frigate or corvette? The new surface combatant expanding Sweden’s strategic horizons
An artist's impression of the new NGSS Luleå-class warships for the RSwN. The surface combatants will allow the RSwN to more effectively participate in NATO naval exercises and contribute to sea control operations beyond the Baltic Sea. (Image: Saab)
With the new Luleå-class vessel, the Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN) will have a class of modern capital ship that could provide a wide range of naval capabilities that it has not had before, contributing to the shaping of Sweden’s role in NATO and allowing it to perform new missions.
Sweden’s programme for four new Luleå-class ships has completed the first stage of the Product Definition Phase in 2023 and the second stage has been initiated. It has not been made clear, however, if they will be frigates or corvettes.
The Luleå-class vessels being built for the Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN) under the Next Generation Surface Ship (NGSS) project started in 2020 with a project definition phase run by the Swedish defence procurement organisation, FMV.
A spokesperson from the FMV told Shephard that it did not refer to the Luleå-class as either a frigate or corvette, but said that the project had
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