In the context of a new strategic alliance signed on January 30 as part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to Sweden, France and Sweden have indicated their intention to strengthen their defence cooperation. To prioritise areas for collaboration, anti-tank and air defence have been chosen as priority areas.
The French General Directorate of Armament (DGA) and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV – Forsvarets materielverk) signed a letter of intent in July 2021, which laid the groundwork for future cooperation regarding the Medium Range Missile (MMP). The MMP is an anti-tank munition of the 5th generation and was developed by MBDA. It is currently also in service with the French Army.
It was at that time that the MMP, which is now known as Akeron MP, was selected to develop the capability of the European Union to operate beyond line of sight (BLOS) as part of the Lynkeus project, which the European Commission sponsored through the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) programme. While France was in charge of coordinating this initiative, Sweden also participated in it.
A few months later, when a Swedish officer was getting ready to take command of the European special forces group “Takuba” in Mali, France and Sweden signed a letter of intent to intensify their strategic dialogue on defence and security issues, improve interoperability between their respective forces, and promote cooperation in the development of military capabilities.
These intentions took more than two years to materialise. During President Macron’s state visit to Stockholm on the 30th and 31st of January, a renewed strategic alliance between France and Sweden was signed.
On this particular occasion, the two nations agreed to strengthen collaboration between their defence sectors further, particularly for the manufacture and establishment of vital supply chains for defence and security industries, emphasising “munitions, propellants, and explosives.”
It is emphasised in the text that this is a correct approach to increasing their resilience and contributing to improving the European defence industrial and technology base to make it more innovative, competitive, and robust.
It is noteworthy because it refers to a common enhanced version of medium-range missiles, clearing the path for increased collaboration on anti-tank missiles. It is explained that creating common equipment would also help tactical coordination between their ground forces because it would benefit them.
Additionally, France and Sweden have communicated their shared aim to increase their capabilities and their intention to expand their collaboration in air surveillance and defence to confront future threats.
These French and Swedish companies will take the lead in this Franco-Swedish collaboration. MBDA and Saab are already partners in the Meteor long-range air-to-air missile programme.
A shared plan will be developed to create additional features, particularly in the field of beyond-line-of-sight shooting, while preparing the missile to respond to future generations of threats that may be met on the battlefield. The Akeron MP will be at the core of this cooperation, including developing a common roadmap.
