Week 46, 2025 was marked by major contracts, Nordic defence cooperation and strategic partnerships. Here is a comprehensive overview of the week's most important defence news from the Nordic and Baltic regions.

Domains

Naval

  • HMS Belos arrived in Turku (southwestern Finland) for a three-day visit during which Swedish and Finnish divers conducted joint exercises in the Gulf of Finland, focusing on readiness for underwater incidents. Read more
  • Sweden expanded its agreement with MBDA for additional CAMM (Common Anti-air Modular Missile) missiles for the Visby-class corvettes. The missiles will be integrated into the Sea Ceptor system from 2026 as part of the vessels' mid-life modification programme. Read more
  • Sweden served as host nation for exercise Playbook Merlin 25 in the Baltic Sea from 10 to 14 November, focusing on anti-submarine warfare with participation from nine NATO nations. Swedish corvettes HMS Helsingborg, HMS Karlstad, HMS Gävle and HMS Sundsvall took part alongside submarines from Sweden and Germany. Read more
  • Norway's defence research institute FFI (Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment) is seeking innovative technological solutions for port protection against underwater threats, with a focus on autonomous surveillance systems and sensor technology. The application deadline was 28 November 2025. Read more

Air

  • Colombia officially ordered 17 Gripen E/F aircraft from Saab in a deal worth 3.1 billion euros (approximately 36 billion SEK). The contract was signed on 14 November in Cali and includes 15 single-seat Gripen E and two twin-seat Gripen F aircraft, with deliveries scheduled for 2026 to 2032, as well as industrial and social projects. Read more
  • Saab received two new orders from Airbus Defence and Space for the Arexis sensor system for the German Air Force's Eurofighter EK, with a combined order value of 549 million euros. The second order includes artificial intelligence technology from Saab and the defence company Helsing. Read more
  • The Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) invited the public to suggest a name for the new radar and command aircraft S 106 GlobalEye from Saab. The competition runs until 5 January 2026 and the jury is chaired by the Chief of the Air Force. Read more
  • American B-52 Stratofortress bombers conducted exercises in Europe as part of Bomber Task Force Europe 26-1, with activities involving Sweden and Finland. Operations were coordinated by NATO's air operations centre in Norway. Read more

Land

  • Denmark ordered additional Carl-Gustaf M4 systems from Saab, including ammunition and training equipment, at a value of 510 million SEK, with deliveries scheduled for 2026 to 2028. The procurement was conducted by the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO). Read more
  • Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden signed a multilateral technical arrangement for cooperation on the CV90 combat vehicle (designated Stridsfordon 90 in Sweden), with the aim of coordinating use, maintenance and development within NATO. Read more

Cyber

  • Denmark and Canada signed a joint declaration on deepened cooperation in quantum science and technology at the European Quantum Technologies Conference in Copenhagen (København, Denmark) on 10 November, focusing on the secure development of critical technology relevant to both innovation and defence. Read more
  • Nokia and Latvian company Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT) signed a strategic framework agreement to jointly develop a tactical 5G communications system for the Baltic region, optimised for sensors, unmanned vehicles and field units. LMT operates Europe's first 5G military test bed at Ādaži Military Base in Latvia. Read more

Space

  • A new report from the analysis firm Politea, written by James Francis at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), concludes that Sweden faces a crossroads in space policy and must raise the political priority of the sector in order to remain strategically relevant. The report proposes a dual strategy combining deepened international cooperation with a strong domestic market, with particular emphasis on Esrange (Sweden's space centre in northern Sweden). Read more

Policy & Strategy

  • The Nordic and Baltic countries agreed at the NB8 meeting in Helsinki (Finland) to fund a joint package of 500 million dollars in defence materiel for Ukraine through the US-led PURL initiative. Read more
  • The Nordic defence ministers met on 12 November in Helsinki within the framework of NORDEFCO (Nordic Defence Cooperation). Finland's Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen highlighted the need for joint operational capability among the Nordic air forces and deepened cooperation on ammunition production. The chairmanship will pass to Norway in 2026. Read more
  • The Nordic-Baltic defence ministers' meeting in Helsinki on 12 to 13 November brought together ministers under the NORDEFCO and NB8 formats, focusing on NATO cooperation, support for Ukraine and joint defence industrial capacity. For the first time, chiefs of defence from all Nordic countries also participated within the NORDEFCO format. Read more
  • The Swedish Home Guard National Assembly 2025 (Rikshemvärnstinget 2025) in Sundsvall (northern Sweden) gathered more than 160 delegates and addressed the Home Guard's growth, professionalisation and integration into the NATO structure. The Chief of the Home Guard emphasised that the Home Guard forms part of the core structure of Sweden's defence capability. Read more
  • The Danish Home Guard (Hjemmeværnet) held its second national council meeting of the year, with the goal of reaching at least 20,000 active volunteers by 2028 and strengthening the organisation operationally, technologically and in terms of competence. Read more

Industry

  • The Norwegian defence industry generated revenues of 46.4 billion Norwegian kroner in 2024, an increase of 34 per cent, with export growth of 40 per cent to 18.8 billion kroner, of which nearly one billion went to Ukraine. The statistics were published by the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) on behalf of FSi. Read more
  • The construction contract for a new radar station on Magerøya in Nordkapp (northern Norway) was awarded to Harald Nilsen AS at a value of 113 million Norwegian kroner. The facility is expected to be completed in 2028, with the Norwegian Air Force as the end user. Read more
  • Finnish research organisation VTT and defence services company Millog signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen innovation capacity in the defence sector by combining VTT's research expertise with Millog's knowledge of defence materiel. Read more
  • The Finnish Defence Forces and Patria renewed their strategic partnership to ensure operational availability of military aviation assets, naval defence systems and command systems across all security conditions. The agreement includes a new defence economic technology partnership. Read more
  • Norway and NHIndustries (NHI) reached a settlement ending all legal disputes relating to the Norwegian NH90 helicopter programme. NHI will take back all helicopters and pay 305 million euros to Norway. Read more
  • Scandinavian X and the newly established company SWEBAL signed a letter of intent for the supply of Swedish-manufactured TNT for drone systems from 2028, when SWEBAL's factory outside Nora (central Sweden) is expected to be completed. The drone systems are based on technology from the Ukrainian company Vluchnyk. Read more
  • Journalist and soldier Per Wallin, known from the Krigshistoriepodden podcast and the SVT series Krigsmaskinen Sverige, is joining Nordic Defence Sector to deepen coverage of defence capability and preparedness. Read more

Week 46 confirmed the continued intensification of Nordic defence cooperation, with major industrial contracts, multilateral agreements and political meetings all pointing towards a strengthened collective defence capability in the region.