Naval Group and Sweden’s Marine Technology Center have signed an agreement to collaborate on naval defense research, covering communications, autonomous systems, protection of critical seabed infrastructure, and ships’ digital architectures.
Signed in Stockholm, the memorandum of understanding provides a framework for joint research, technology development, and testing in Sweden.
The partners aim to develop technologies addressing the needs of the Royal Swedish Navy and the broader maritime sector.
Their work will include systems for exchanging information, operating autonomous platforms, and protecting infrastructure on the seabed.
Sweden’s Frigate Procurement
The research partnership builds on Sweden’s purchase of four Naval Group frigates under a contract signed in August, with the first delivery scheduled for 2030.
Known as FDI, the French Defense and Intervention Frigate, the ships were selected in May over competing proposals from Babcock, Saab, and Spain’s Navantia.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson cited delivery speed and air defense capabilities as key reasons for the choice.
He estimated an average price of over 10 billion kronor ($1.1 billion) per vessel, depending on the equipment included.
Naval Group had also taken steps to establish local maintenance support before the selection.
Earlier this year, the French company signed a partnership with Swedish shipyard Oresund Drydocks to cover maintenance throughout the fleet’s service life and transfer technical knowledge and skills to Swedish industry.