At DALO, the day after the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) signed what it called an opportunity purchase, Nordic Wing set out what Sweden is buying: the Astero reconnaissance drone and the Raptor 2 attack drone, a pairing the Danish manufacturer says works as one loop and that it will now support from a physical presence on Swedish soil.

The trip to DALO Industry Days is sponsored by BAE Systems Bofors

FMV has announced the deal as a reconnaissance-strike complex, or recce-strike: the Astero reconnaissance drone, which finds and tracks targets and relays what it sees in real time, paired with the Raptor 2 attack drone, a loitering munition that strikes the targets the drone has found. The two are linked by Nordic Wing's software. Alongside the drones, FMV is buying operator stations, training simulators, and purpose-built workshop containers for first-line maintenance in the field. Deliveries to FMV and handover to the Swedish Armed Forces are planned for the second quarter of 2027.

FMV described the deal as a läglighetsköp, an opportunity purchase. Asked what made it Nordic Wing, and specifically the Astero and Raptor 2, that Sweden opted for, Jonas Münster, a co-founder of Nordic Wing, points first to the Nordic setting.

– There is the close collaboration within NORDEFCO between the countries, and the brotherhood and sisterhood between Denmark and Sweden, Münster says. And the fact that we are a Danish company that relies on European manufacturers for everything you see here, he adds, nodding at the products in the booth.

Beyond that, he argues, the systems earned their place on their record and on a capability he considers hard to find elsewhere.

– There are a million different drone systems out there, but we have a very well-proven, long track record with exactly the Astero and the Raptor in active deployment, also with other NATO countries, Münster continues. You can't really get the same capabilities in one system anywhere else.

One loop, three attack drones

The Astero and the Raptor 2 are built to work in tandem. The Astero is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) drone that can spot a target and coordinate a strike on it; the Raptor 2 is a man-portable attack drone, a loitering munition that, according to Nordic Wing, can be hand-launched, stay aloft for up to four hours and carries a warhead with substantial armour penetration.

– In military terms it's what they call a kill chain. It doesn't sound very nice, he admits, but it just means you have the whole loop.

A single Astero can coordinate three Raptors, he explains, and the drones talk to each other over an encrypted radio link, relaying each other's signals and reinforcing one another in GPS-denied conditions of the kind seen at the front in Ukraine.

– The more systems you have in the air, the better the whole chain becomes, he sums up.

What many will call swarming, Münster clarifies, is really a mesh network.

– Swarming is just a fancy word for a mesh network. The drones talk to each other in a radio network, heavily encrypted. You can see it as a spider web between the drones, Münster says. One drone talks to the others and they always find the best link back home. They also share their positions and triangulate off each other, so the more drones you have, the better the accuracy.

The systems can also operate independently, he notes; they simply become stronger together.

For the handover from the ISR drone to the attack drone, Münster describes several methods: the Astero can illuminate a target, hand over by coordinates, or pass image and position data to a Raptor for pixel lock and terminal guidance. Throughout, he stresses, there is a human in the loop.

– Based on the fact that we are a NATO country, there is always a human in the loop. You have a handover process where you confirm, he says.

The Raptors are also designed not to cause unintended collateral damage, according to Münster. If a drone cannot acquire its target, runs low on power, sustains a critical failure or loses its radio uplink for a prolonged period, it reverts to a self-destruct mechanism and destroys itself in the air.

A presence in Sweden

The deal comes with a physical footprint. Nordic Wing will set up service, repair and maintenance in Sweden, including the workshop containers, tied to the Swedish Armed Forces' requirements.

– It means we'll have a physical Nordic Wing presence in Sweden, with Swedish hires and local Swedish workforce, says Münster.

The company is already working with Swedish suppliers on components, he points out, and had done so before this order; Sweden has a number of companies doing drone research and development that Nordic Wing had, in his words, "had our sights on" beforehand. Asked whether the deal deepens those industrial ties, he does not overstate it but does not play it down either.

– It would be unrealistic for me to stand here and say it doesn't deepen our collaboration with Swedish industry, Münster acknowledges. The interest was already large, but now it becomes easier to do it faster.

Deliveries are planned for the second quarter of 2027, roughly a year out. According to Münster, the production line is running and he sees no obstacle to meeting the date, though he acknowledges the work ahead in Sweden on implementation.

– There is a lot of work ahead of us, but I don't see any dark clouds on the horizon, he says.

FMV is making the purchase under its appropriation for opportunity purchases, läglighetsköp. FMV describes these as quick, unplanned acquisitions it can make at short notice, "when the market suddenly opens," restricted to operational systems with a high technology readiness level (TRL), meaning technology that is fully developed, thoroughly tested and ready to use. The aim, it says, is faster handover and earlier fielding within the Armed Forces.

– With this acquisition the Swedish Armed Forces can continue to develop its capability in the loitering-munition field, says Eric Holmberg, head of FMV's artillery and mortar systems unit, in the agency's announcement.

Keeping pace

In Ukraine, the countermeasures against drones, such as electronic warfare and other counter-UAS systems, are evolving fast. Asked whether the platform has room to keep pace, Münster says it already does.

– What you're looking at here is the fourth generation of the system, and there's constantly a new generation coming, he says. You're constantly upgrading both software and hardware, so the platform is easy to keep alive. We do it because we know the battlefield is changing all the time.

That expectation, he adds, was written into the collaboration by FMV.

– FMV has looked heavily into this. They anticipated it, and they had the foresight to say we know this will happen and we want it to be part of what we do with you, he goes on. There will be constant evolution of the systems to meet the requirements of the battlefield. That's just how it is in this game now.

For a Danish company, he reflects, selling into Sweden carries a particular weight.

– As a Danish company there are basically four dream markets, and it doesn't come down to size or money, only to honour and the opportunity: Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, Münster says. Sweden is even closer to us, with our brothers and sisters there. We really look forward to delivering on that promise for the Armed Forces and the Swedish people. It's a huge honour, and a dream come true.