France and Sweden have expressed their desire to strengthen their defence co-operation under a new strategic partnership signed on 30 January as part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Sweden. 

Anti-tank and air defence have been identified as priority areas for cooperation. In this context, a major new step has been taken in the relationship between the two countries. 

On 31 January,  Eric Béranger and Micael Johansson, the CEOs of MBDA and SAAB respectively, expressed their willingness to support this process in the fields of anti-tank and air defence, two capabilities identified as particularly critical for the Armed Forces of both countries, especially in the context of high-intensity conflicts. 

According to a relevant announcement, they signed Letters of Intent to strengthen the cooperation between their companies in these two fields, at the Business Forum organised in the presence of the highest French and Swedish authorities.

Co-operation in the anti-tank field has resulted in an initial focus on the AKERON MP (formerly known as MMP – Missile Moyenne Portée). A first contract has been awarded to SAAB and MBDA by the DGA, the French contracting entity, and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV – Försvarets Materielverk). 

Also read: MBDA | Network-Centric-oriented Philosophy in EXOCET, MISTRAL, MMP – Partnership with Cypriot Companies in the Background

This will enable the pooling of MBDA and SAAB’s expertise in the anti-tank domain, in order to support the French and Swedish Armed Forces’ choice of the AKERON MP weapon system in the short term. 

This will also enable the implementation of a joint capability roadmap to develop new functionalities associated in particular with beyond line-of-sight firing and also to prepare the missile to address the future generation of targets that will arrive on the battlefield. This roadmap will maintain AKERON MP’s position as the benchmark weapon in its field and an indispensable tool in high-intensity conflicts.

MBDA and SAAB are long-standing partners, as illustrated by their co-operation on the Meteor air-to-air missile programme and the TAURUS cruise missile as well as in the European MarsEUs consortium that aims to provide a sovereign European beyond line-of-sight missile firing capability.

Also read: Landmark delivery of 1000 MMP missiles to the French Armed Forces and the relationship with Cyprus