Week 20 of 2026 is characterised by broad investments in Nordic industrial cooperation, autonomous systems, total defence and continued support for Ukraine. Here is the week's compiled defence news.

Domains

Naval

  • Saab and Polish defence group PGZ Group have signed a strategic cooperation agreement in the maritime domain. The cooperation covers underwater technology, submarine maintenance, autonomous drone systems, possible development of a heavyweight torpedo, and plans for an underwater technology centre in Poland. Read more
  • Flotilla Admiral Trond Gimmingsrud has been appointed Rear Admiral and new chief of the Norwegian Armed Forces' special operations forces on a fixed-term appointment of six years. He succeeds Major General Joar Eidheim. Read more

Air

  • Sweden has delivered specialised equipment for the operation and maintenance of military airfields to Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, the equipment is intended to enable faster maintenance of runways and keep airfields operational around the clock. Read more

Land

  • The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) is leading a project in which Einride, together with approximately 40 stakeholders including Saab and BAE Systems Bofors, will develop an autonomous tracked vehicle equipped with Einride's driving system Einride Driver for civil and military logistics. Read more
  • The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has launched a pre-commercial procurement under the innovation programme CMIP to develop small unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), with a focus on cross-country mobility, autonomy and open system architecture. The application window is open until 3 June 2026. Read more
  • The Swedish Home Guard (Hemvärnet) is introducing digital training via the Moodle and Optima platforms for the theoretical elements of driver licence training for cars and light vans, with the aim of training more drivers and freeing up instructor time. Read more
  • Finland has authorised the Finnish Defence Forces (Puolustusvoimat) to order thermographic add-on sights through NATO's procurement agency NSPA (NATO Support and Procurement Agency). The order value exceeds 24 million euros excluding VAT, and the supplier is German firm Andres Industries AG. Read more

Cyber

  • Norwegian defence authorities and the National Security Authority (NSM, Nasjonal sikkerhetsmyndighet) have selected Telenor as the supplier of telephony and communications services. The framework agreement runs for four years with an option for a further three years, and has a maximum value of 950 million Norwegian kroner excluding VAT. Read more

Policy & Strategy

  • Norway is contributing 302 million US dollars (approximately 2.8 billion Norwegian kroner) to NATO's PURL mechanism for military support to Ukraine, with a focus on air defence systems and Patriot missiles. Norway's total contributions via PURL now exceed 12.5 billion Norwegian kroner. Read more
  • The Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) and the Civil Defence Agency (MCF) have jointly established a new business council comprising 26 company executives, with the aim of strengthening total defence and Sweden's overall resilience in times of crisis and war. Read more

Industry

  • Wallenberg Investments has founded Nordic Compass, an industrial alliance of more than 25 Nordic stakeholders, including Saab, Ericsson, Nokia and Ørsted, with a focus on defence, energy and deep tech. The board is chaired by Finland's former Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen. Read more
  • The Swedish Armed Forces will be the largest exhibitor at the Total Defence Fair (Totalförsvarsmässan), to be held at Stockholmsmässan (Stockholm, Sweden) on 20 to 22 October 2026. Read more
  • The Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) have inaugurated the innovation node LRIX (Lund Rapid Innovation and eXploitation) in Lund (southern Sweden), where industry and academia will collaborate to accelerate the development of military command and control systems. The pilot project will be evaluated at the end of 2026. Read more
  • Finnish company Bittium is expanding its tactical communications network TAC WIN to the Croatian Air Force. The latest order is worth approximately 1.9 million euros and forms part of a modernisation programme that has been under way since 2022. Read more
  • Verkan AB has initiated the environmental permitting process for a planned gunpowder factory in Björneborg, Kristinehamn municipality (central Sweden), having selected the site over Borlänge as the final candidate. Read more
  • SSD Expo 2026 (Supply, Security and Defence) will be held on 10 to 11 June in Tallinn (Estonia), bringing together more than 150 defence and technology companies and over 2,500 professional visitors, with a focus on Baltic Sea region security. Read more

Overall, Week 20 reflects a broad movement towards deeper Nordic and European defence cooperation, increased domestic production capacity and continued support for Ukraine, with industry playing an increasingly central role in total defence.