The Swedish government announced on 24 May 2024 that it had agreed a three-year framework for military support to Ukraine totalling SEK 75 billion (EUR 6.51 billion) for 2024–2026, equating to SEK 25 billion a year.
“With this proposal, the total military and civilian support from Sweden to Ukraine amounts to more than SEK 100 billion,” the Swedish government stated on its website. “The military support within the Ukraine framework can be provided through donations of defence materiel, financial contributions and economic support for the procurement of defence materiel.
“Depending on the type of support used, eg deliveries of replacement purchases, the framework may burden public finances for several years, even beyond 2026,” the Swedish government added.
Following on from this announcement, Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson stated on his X/Twitter account on 29 May 20224 that Sweden will donate a new military capability to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences under its 16th military support package to Kyiv, which he said “will be the largest Ukrainian military aid package yet at EUR 1.16 billion”.
Jonson and the Swedish Ministry of Defence (MoD) then went into the specifics of what Sweden would be providing to Ukraine, which notably will include the transfer of ASC 890 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. The Swedish Air Force currently operates two ASC 890s, which are based on the Saab 340 twin-engine turboprop and equipped with the Erieye active electronically scanned-array radar.
The Swedish MoD said the ASC 890s “will provide Ukraine with a completely new capability against both airborne and maritime targets” and that Ukraine’s capability to identify and engage targets at long range will be consequently strengthened. “The package will also include a holistic solution that involves training, technical equipment and methodological support for air surveillance and command and control,” the statement added.
Jonson added on X/Twitter that the ASC 890 aircraft “will act as a force multiplier” in combination with the introduction of F-16 fighters being donated to Ukraine by its allies.
The Swedish MoD conceded that its AEW&C aircraft donation “will entail a temporary decrease of Sweden’s defence capability, which will be addressed by procuring additional S 106 GlobalEye aircraft and advancing previous orders for two new GlobalEye aircraft”.
The MoD said that Sweden’s 16th support package for Ukraine “will also include the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (RB 99-AMRAAM), which can be used on aircraft and in ground-based air defence systems”, adding that the missiles “will be redesigned to suit ground-based anti-aircraft systems”.
Sweden will purchase new missiles to replace the donated ones.
Regarding land systems, the Swedish MoD said its 16th support package to Ukraine will include a donation of its entire stock of Pbv 302 tracked armoured personnel carriers to support the reconstruction of new Ukrainian brigades. Including all variants, the Swedish Army’s Pbv fleet numbers 239 vehicles, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ The Military Balance.
The 16th package will also “include an addition of 155 mm artillery shells to increase Ukraine’s capability to combat Russian units in the depths of the battlefield”, the Swedish MoD stated. It again conceded that the donation “will entail a temporary decrease of Sweden’s defence capability”, which it said would be addressed by procuring replacement munitions.
Finally, the Swedish MoD stated that its 16th support package to Ukraine would contain the following:
- Surplus fuel transport vehicles from the Swedish armed forces;
- maintenance of previously donated Swedish materiel;
- financial support to capability coalitions;
- financial support to funds and temporary initiatives to enable swift and large-scale procurement of materiel to Ukraine;
- the tasking of the Swedish Defence Research Agency with supporting Ukraine in establishing its own defence research institute;
- a donation of terminals with subscriptions for satellite communications to further strengthen Ukraine’s command and control capability.
