Sweden Signs Deal To Buy 4 Frigates From France, Deepen Defense Cooperation

Authored by Guy Birchall via The Epoch Times,

Sweden inked a deal with France for a quartet of Naval Group frigates during a ceremony in Stockholm on Aug. 31.

The event in the Swedish capital was attended by the leaders of both nations, French President Emmanuel Macron and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who also agreed to deepen their defense cooperation more broadly.

The ships ordered by the Swedes will be manufactured by French state-controlled defense manufacturer Naval Group at its main surface shipyard in Lorient, located on Brittany's Atlantic coast, Macron said in an Aug. 31 post on X.

"This is the excellence of our defense industry that is recognized," Macron said, adding that it was also emblematic of "two nations that share a common vision of European sovereignty and security."

"From the Baltic to the Atlantic, we are strengthening together our capacity to protect Europe and building a more sovereign, more powerful, more credible European defense."

Macron thanked Sweden for showing confidence in France.

Kristersson said in a post on the same platform that delivery of the frigates would start from 2030, adding that Stockholm and Paris had also signed "a framework agreement on a strategic platform for defense cooperation between our countries."

"The agreements strengthen the operational Swedish-French