The armed forces “must” urgently buy 15,000 automatic weapons from the United States

Published December 11, 2024 at 12:27 PM

Domestic. The Swedish Armed Forces say they are facing an acute shortage of functioning firearms. They are now choosing to order 15,000 automatic carbines from the US Army as a temporary solution – but we are not told how much it will cost.

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The purchase is described as a “necessary” emergency solution after it became clear that deliveries of new weapons from Finnish Sako cannot meet the need in time.

– We need to ensure that the Armed Forces have weapons immediately, says Jonas Lotsne, head of army materiel at Försvarets materielverk (FMV), to SVT Nyheter.

Swedish soldiers have for decades used the AK5 automatic carbine, a weapon that was developed in 1980 century. Despite upgrades, the weapons are worn out, and the Swedish Armed Forces have long signaled the need for a replacement.

An agreement with Sako for the supply of new firearms was signed in 2023, but the procurement has been delayed due to an appeal by the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Cook. This has prompted FMV to act quickly by directly importing the Colt M4A1 from the US Army.

The deal with the US is described as urgent and includes weapons to be used by everything from conscripts to professional soldiers as well as in international operations. Jonas Lotsne admits that the purchase was not planned.

– We ended up in a situation where we had to do it that way. It was not desirable to end up in that situation, but linked to the needs of the Armed Forces, it is natural that we supply more weapons, he tells SVT.

What the cost of the 15,000 weapons lands on is however unclear, as FMV does not want to reveal the price tag, according to SVTY.

The need for more weapons is linked to Sweden's defense ambitions. According to the FMV, the army is to be doubled by 2030, which requires large amounts of material. At the same time, the American arms purchases raise questions about Sweden's independence and security of supply. Critics believe that the situation is a result of long-term underfunding of the defense and that Swedish defense capability is now at risk in an increasingly uncertain security situation.