The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has signed a framework agreement with Swedish company Hestra Gloves for a new combat glove and finger mitten for the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten). The products are part of a new hand clothing system and can be used together and separately, according to a press release from FMV.

"The combat glove is intended to enable the user to handle weapons with a firm grip in both dry and wet conditions," says Ann-Christin Vuohisalo, project manager at FMV, in the press release.

The combat glove is manufactured in leather and textile and is designed for Nordic conditions. The finger mitten can be used as an insulating layer together with combat gloves, thumb gloves, and thumb mittens within the new hand clothing system, according to the press release.

"It was an important requirement from the Swedish Armed Forces that the mittens and gloves should work together," says Gunilla Norén, strategic procurement officer at FMV.

According to FMV, the procurement was conducted with a focus on function and quality, with several suppliers participating. The evaluation included both technical tests and user trials in which soldiers wore the gloves during exercises.

FMV has placed an initial order for 125,000 units. Deliveries to the Swedish Armed Forces are planned to begin in early 2027. The order value amounts to approximately 69 million Swedish kronor.

In 2025, FMV signed a framework agreement with Hestra for the delivery of a new, lightweight combat glove, which was the first part of an upcoming system intended to replace the older model known as Stridshandske 2000 (Combat Glove 2000).

NDS has also previously reported on the seven-year framework agreement that Hestra signed with the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (FMI, Forsvarsministeriets Materiel- og Indkøbsstyrelse). The agreement covered the delivery of gloves and winter gloves to the Danish defence forces, and also included specialist gloves, among them fast rope gloves and fire-resistant gloves for the Danish Navy.