Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
France and Sweden on Monday signed agreements for Paris to supply Stockholm with four modern frigates in a deal worth 4.3 billion euros, strengthening the defences of NATO’s newest member in the strategically important Baltic Sea region. The region is significant because Russia uses key shipping lanes and airspace there.
The agreements were signed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Sweden, as he pushes for greater European military autonomy and a reduced reliance on the United States. The move also comes after the US administration last week urged European allies in NATO to show that they are strengthening their defences, as Washington turns more of its attention to security challenges closer to home and in the Indo-Pacific region.
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Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said, “These frigates will serve as platforms that will provide long-range capabilities at sea and protection against ballistic missiles.” He added that the war in Ukraine “has shown us the importance of being able to defend against this type of missile.”
Under the contract, France will also supply weapons and other equipment for the warships, which, according to French presidential officials, can carry air-defence interceptors capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, as well as torpedoes and long-range cruise missiles. France will also provide training. French shipbuilder Naval Group is expected to deliver the first vessel in 2030, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the French presidency’s customary practices.
Macron described the deal as a “major strategic cooperation” between France and Sweden. “We are thereby strengthening the European defence industrial and technological base,” he said. The agreements were signed aboard the Amiral Ronarc’h, the first in a new series of French “defence and intervention” frigates. The vessel was launched in 2022 and delivered to the French navy in October 2025. Sweden is buying ships of the same class.
Macron and Kristersson held talks aboard the vessel before a working dinner later in the day. French officials said the talks were also expected to cover Sweden’s participation in France’s unprecedented initiative to coordinate its nuclear deterrence efforts with European allies. Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Poland, Denmark and Norway have also expressed interest in the initiative. It allows France to temporarily deploy nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries and lets partners take part in French deterrence exercises. Allied non-nuclear forces could also join activities supporting France’s nuclear deterrence.
France is also turning to Sweden for defence equipment. In December, it ordered two GlobalEye surveillance aircraft from Swedish manufacturer Saab.
Sweden formally joined NATO in 2024 as the trans-Atlantic military alliance’s 32nd member, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality and centuries of broader non-alignment with major powers. Against the backdrop of heightened security concerns in Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the frigate deal adds to wider defence cooperation between France and Sweden.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
