On April 18, 2023, the Swedish Defense Procurement agency Försvarets materielverk (FMV) announced the signing of an agreement with the General Directorate of Armaments (Direction Générale de l'Armement - DGA) of the Ministry of the Armed Forces of France on cooperation in joint R&D and procurement of the Akeron MP anti-tank missile system (MMP) produced by the French branch of the European association MBDA. This agreement thus formalizes the decision of the Swedish Armed Forces on the serial purchase of Akeron MP anti-tank missile systems, which will receive the Swedish official designation Robotsystem 58 (RBS-58).
Firing from the MBDA Akeron MP anti-tank missile system (Swedish designation RBS-58) during military tests in the 12th Motorized Infantry Battalion of the Life Guards Regiment of the Swedish Army, October 2022 (c) FMVThe choice of Akeron MP (MMP) was made by FMV based on the results of the 2017 competition for a new anti-tank missile system for the Swedish armed forces.
On July 1, 2021, FMV signed a protocol of intent with the DGA regarding the study of the possibility of purchasing Akeron MP (MMP) ATGMs for the Swedish armed forces. In accordance with this protocol, Sweden was supplied with a small batch of these complexes for testing - landfill, conducted by FMV in the fall of 2021, and military, which have been held since 2022 in the 12th Motorized Infantry Battalion of the Life Guards Regiment (Livgardet) of the Swedish army. Previously, ATGM field tests in winter conditions were conducted by the DGA in Sweden at the beginning of 2019.
It is stated that the training of personnel of the Swedish armed forces on the Akeron MP ATGM (RBS-58) will be started at the end of 2023, and serial deliveries will probably begin a little later. It is reported that, apparently, the assembly of the missiles of the complex will be organized by the Saab Dynamics AB division of the Swedish Saab AB group. In Sweden, the Akeron MP (RBS-58) ATGM should replace the remaining portable/portable ATGMs of national production RBS-56 BILL 2, and in general strengthen the anti-tank potential of the Swedish army in light of the lessons of the fighting in Ukraine.
Sweden will thus become the first major foreign customer of the Akeron MP ATGM. This portable/portable complex (originally designated as MMP - Missile Moyenne Portée until June 2022) has been produced by the French branch of MBDA since 2017 and is being adopted by the French army. By the end of 2022, more than 1,200 rockets had been manufactured for it. The complex combines television and thermal imaging homing with command control via fiber-optic cable. The 140 mm rocket weighs 15 kg and has a firing range of up to 5000 m.
Until now, it was known about the export of only a small number of Akeron MP ATGMs for the Egyptian special operations forces, which apparently received them in 2022. Information was spread about the transfer of a small amount of these complexes by the French to Ukraine in 2022, but there is no confirmation of this. In 2022, a small batch of Akeron MP ATGM (with 90 missiles) was ordered by Luxembourg, which is due to be delivered in 2025. Apparently, Belgium and Qatar will also act as Akeron MP customers in the near future.
Photos of the range tests of the MBDA Akeron MP anti-tank missile system (Swedish designation RBS-58) in Sweden, October 2021 (c) FMV