Week 15, 2026 was marked by important decisions regarding NATO's forward presence in northern Europe, international cyber operations against Russian actors, and several industry and capability investments in Sweden and Finland. Below is a comprehensive review of the week's defence news.

Domains

Naval

  • The Swedish Navy is establishing the experimental office MaX (Marinens experimentkontor, the Navy's Experimental Office) at the Naval Warfare School in Karlskrona (southern Sweden). The office will be able to more rapidly test, verify, and implement solutions based on the needs of wartime units, and will serve as a national resource with collaboration towards wartime units, academia, and industry. The background is the deteriorating security situation and the requirement for a higher pace of development. Read more

Land

  • Finland has signed a government-to-government agreement with South Korea, brokered through the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), for the purchase of an additional 112 K9 howitzers of the 155 mm tracked howitzer type. The contract value amounts to 546.8 million euros. The procurement forms part of the ten-year modernisation of the Finnish Army and will replace older towed artillery. Read more

Cyber

  • An international government operation led by the FBI, with support from the Finnish Suojelupoliisi (SUPO, Finnish Security and Intelligence Service) and the Cybersecurity Centre at Traficom (the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), has disrupted a cyber espionage network linked to the Russian military intelligence service GRU (Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravleniye). The actors exploited hijacked home routers, particularly of the TP-Link brand, for espionage against military operations, government administration, and critical infrastructure. The authorities warn that the Russian cyber threat persists and urge private individuals to strengthen the security of their home networks. Read more
  • Bittium and Telia have implemented a hybrid network combining Bittium's tactical communications system, used in the Finnish Defence Forces' C5 (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Combat Systems) system, with Telia's 5G infrastructure. The solution is intended to enable secure data transfer across large areas and continues to be tested in operational environments. Read more

Policy & Strategy

  • The Swedish Government is proposing that parliament approves the deployment of up to 1,200 Swedish soldiers to Finland during 2026 as part of NATO's Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF Finland). The plan is to initially contribute approximately 600 soldiers, with the possibility of expansion. Sweden will serve as the framework nation for the multinational battle group, with contributions from Denmark, Norway, France, and the United Kingdom, among others. The unit will be based out of Boden (northern Sweden) and will be able to operate in Sweden, Finland, and Norway, with a multinational headquarters planned in Rovaniemi (northern Finland, near the Arctic). Read more
  • Sweden's Minister for Defence Pål Jonson has been awarded the Estonian Ministry of Defence's Defence Cross of Merit by Estonia's Minister for Defence Hanno Pevkur. The award recognises Jonson's contributions to bilateral defence cooperation. During the meeting, the security situation in the Baltic Sea and preparations for the NATO Summit in Ankara were discussed. Read more

Industry

  • Flexotrap, which develops modular bullet trap systems and mobile shooting ranges, is conducting a new share issue and raising 5 million SEK led by NXT Resilience. The capital will be used to increase delivery capacity and drive international expansion towards NATO markets, with the company stating that dialogues are already under way with several countries. Read more
  • Teknikföretagen (the Association of Swedish Engineering Industries) and Säkerhets- och Försvarsföretagen, SOFF (the Swedish Security and Defence Industry Association) are launching the new Swedish Dual-Use Prize to recognise companies that develop technology with both civilian and military applications. Nominations are open until 21 April, and the winner will be announced in May by Minister for Defence Pål Jonson. Read more

Taken together, Week 15 reflects an intense pace of northern European defence cooperation, with concrete decisions on troop contributions, materiel procurement, and capability development running in parallel with ongoing cyber threats from state actors.