Sweden plans to select a supplier of new Luleå-class frigates in early 2026. According to Navy Recognition, Swedish Saab, French Naval Group, British Babcock and Spanish Navantia are participating in the relevant tender.
The timing of determining the winner of the competition was announced this week by Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonson at a press conference with his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin. The four-ship construction program represents the largest expansion of the Swedish fleet since the early 1980s, with plans to receive two ships by 2030 and two more by 2035. Senior Swedish officials call this schedule ambitious, but necessary given the current geopolitical situation.
Proposed design of the Lulia-class frigates, Sweden
Saab
The Swedish navy chooses options among existing and implemented projects, but intends to introduce systems of national development and production. The program will be implemented with the mandatory participation of the Swedish industry.
The Lulia-class frigates will become the largest surface warships that Sweden has operated since the decommissioning of the last destroyers of the Östergötland and Halland classes in the early 1980s.
It is expected that the length of the new frigates will exceed 120 meters, and the displacement will range from 3,000 to 4,500 tons. These characteristics are significantly superior to the Gothenburg and Visby corvettes, which now form the basis of the Swedish surface fleet.
Saab Kockums initially received a contract in 2021 for the development of a second-generation Visby-class corvette, but the changing international situation led to the cancellation of this contract in favor of a new Lulia-class frigate program.
The Swedish Defense Department then began market research to identify ready-made projects that could be adapted to Swedish needs and reduce the risks associated with the work schedule. The goal is to avoid delays similar to those experienced during the implementation of other naval programs.
Earlier, Saab and Babcock carried out initial work based on the British Type-31 project, but this cooperation has not yet brought significant progress. In this regard, other foreign shipbuilders joined the fight for the contract. The Swedish authorities can choose the option of building frigate hulls abroad and then equipping them at their own shipyards, as was previously done during the production of the Artemis reconnaissance ship, the hull of which was built in Poland, and the equipment was manufactured at the Saab plant in Karlskrona. This approach seems to be the most pragmatic.
France has been particularly active in promoting the Naval Group's FDI-type frigate to participate in the program. At the same time, numerous statements by French officials emphasized the readiness to deliver one fully equipped ship by 2030. Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin noted that France already operates such a frigate and is ready to create a partnership with the participation of Swedish industry.
