Sweden and Finland have signed a letter of intent on cooperation regarding the countries' rocket artillery capabilities. The announcement comes as Sweden has decided to acquire Himars for around seven billion Swedish kronor, a system that shares ammunition and certain components with Finland's M270 MLRS.
According to a press release from the Swedish government, the cooperation may cover training, education and capability development, as well as maintenance, security of supply and production. The letter of intent was signed by Sweden's Minister for Defence Pål Jonson and Finland's Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.
According to the Finnish Ministry of Defence, the planned cooperation covers, among other things, maintenance, training, capability development and ammunition. Häkkänen links the cooperation to the maintenance and service capability for the systems that was secured in Finland earlier this year.
"As Sweden now brings a compatible rocket artillery system into service, both countries gain added value from the fact that we already have this capacity in place. It sends a strong message about how we can not only improve our ability to use key systems more effectively together, but also become more efficient in their life-cycle management and thereby reduce costs," says Antti Häkkänen, according to the Finnish Ministry of Defence.
NDS has previously reported that the United States approved a possible sale of 20 Himars systems to Sweden in March, at an estimated value of 930 million dollars. In June, an agreement was also signed to establish Europe's first service centre for the CFCS fire control system for the M270A2 and Himars in Tampere (southwestern Finland).
Sweden's acquisition covers the American Himars system and has, according to the government, a value of around seven billion Swedish kronor. The first deliveries are scheduled to take place during 2027. According to the Swedish Armed Forces, the system will be organised as a rocket artillery unit within the Swedish division.
"The system will be organised as a rocket artillery unit within the division established in accordance with the 2024 Defence Bill (Försvarsbeslut 24). This gives the division the ability to strike the adversary at tactical depth beyond the adversary's forward lines," says Sweden's Chief of Army Johan Pekkari.
The Swedish Ministry of Defence also states that Lockheed Martin and Saab have signed a letter of intent on cooperation regarding the possible integration of Saab's GLSDB ammunition, as well as the production of ammunition for Himars and other systems, including Patriot.