Sweden reveals price tag on new naval programme

Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration, FMV, has disclosed the contract value for its planned acquisition of four naval logistics support vessels.

The figure appears in newly published procurement documents tied to FMV’s contract with Spanish shipbuilder Freire Shipyard and marks the first official disclosure of the programme’s final contract value.

The disclosed price is slightly below FMV’s earlier estimated contract value of SEK 1.28 billion as it ends up being SEK 1.219 billion.

The procurement material also sheds further light on the tender process behind the programme. FMV received six bids, including offers from Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Armon Vigo and Finnish yard Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy alongside the winner Freire.

The contract was signed on 11 May 2026, with deliveries scheduled to continue until the end of 2030.

FMV describes the vessels as part of a new “sea-mobile logistics concept” for the Swedish Navy. According to the procurement notice, the ships are intended to support the navy’s marine base battalion by transporting equipment, supplies and vehicles, while also conducting refuelling operations for other vessels.

The procurement documents further confirm that FMV is continuing to use a split acquisition structure in parts of its naval programmes. 

Under the model, the vessel platform itself is procured from a commercial shipyard, while military integration work for “protected systems” will be handled separately through a later procurement process.

According to the tender documents, the Freire contract covers design work, vessel delivery, verification, documentation, training and spare parts.

The procurement notice categorises the ships as both warships and auxiliary support vessels, including cargo and tanker functions. FMV also selected lowest price as the award criterion.