In addition to the creation of the so-called "territorial air defense" for $ 1.6 billion, which should ensure the protection of the civilian population as well as critical infrastructure, the Swedish government has announced a number of additional investments in defense capabilities based on Ukraine's experience.
It has been announced that 4 billion Swedish kronor (about 440 million US dollars) will be allocated to various unmanned systems. These funds are planned to purchase strike UAVs, reconnaissance drones, naval drones, as well as UAV detection tools and electronic warfare equipment.
Read more: Rheinmetall and ICEYE Partner to Produce SAR Satellites
It is not announced which models will be purchased. At the same time, all of the above categories are very broad, in particular, strike UAVs include FPV drones, barrage ammunition as well as middle and long-range strike UAVs of course. The same goes for sea drones, which can have various tasks and be both surface and underwater. But it has been clarified that the supply of these means is planned to begin in 2026 and complete their receipt by 2028.
Another 1.3 billion Swedish kronor (140 million US dollars), the Swedish government is directing to reduce dependence on obtaining intelligence from foreign sources. These funds are additional investments in this direction and should allow the Swedes to purchase an additional 10 satellites from 2026 to 2028.
It has not been announced which satellites will be purchased. However, on the same day that the Swedish government announced this investment, on January 12, the Finnish space company ICEYE announced that it had received a contract from the Swedish Ministry of Defense to supply the country with sovereign satellites with SAR radar.
Recall that ICEYE satellites, thanks to SAR technology, allow to receive a radar "image" of the Earth's surface with a resolution of up to 16 cm per pixel in any weather conditions and at any time of the day. These satellites are actively used by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
For Sweden, the deployment of its own reconnaissance satellite group means, as stated, "strategic independence and increased value as an important ally and partner in the international space arena."
Stockholm's bet on its own reconnaissance space group has a very pragmatic explanation. Europe has relied on intelligence from the United States for decades. Thecurrent policy of US demonstrates in the best possible way that such dependence can be a critical deficiency in defense capabilities.
Moreover, Sweden wants to obtain long-range missiles with a range of 2000 km against the russian federation by 2030. So this country definitely does not want to hear about any restrictions on their use, for which its own, sovereign, intelligence data at the appropriate depth of impact is needed.
Read more: Sweden Pays 140 mln Euros for Trackfire RWS by Saab to Counter Drones
