Sweden and Denmark jointly buy 205 Swedish Combat Vehicles 90 from Hägglunds in Örnsköldsvik.
The price tag is SEK 25 billion.
It is the biggest deal we have ever done, says Hägglund CEO Tommy Gustafsson-Rask.
Denmark buys 115 and Sweden 50 Stridsfordon 90, which are manufactured by Hägglunds in Örnsköldsvik. In addition, the countries are jointly buying another 40 vehicles for delivery to Ukraine.
In total, the purchase price amounts to SEK 25 billion, the government writes in a press release.
Discussions for a year
According to Danish TV 2, it is considered to be one of the largest arms deals in Danish history.
It is also the biggest deal ever for Hägglunds, says the company’s CEO Tommy Gustafsson-Rask to TT.
It is a very important deal for us, he says.
The agreement was signed on Friday morning, but the discussions have been going on for about a year according to Gustafsson-Rask.
This continues to build our order book. Now we have an order book of over 80 billion, this means that we are utilizing the production capacity that we are working on and investing in, he says.
Already with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Hägglunds began to see an increased interest in its combat vehicles. But it was with Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine that growth really took off.
The war is the driving factor in the enormous growth we have, says Gustafsson-Rask.
“Unique Access”
Three years ago, the company had a turnover of SEK 2 billion. In five years, Tommy Gustafsson-Rask expects that number to have grown by between six and ten times.
Defense Minister Pål Jonson writes in a comment that “the investments enable more Swedish combat vehicles to make Europe and especially Ukraine safer” and that the Swedish defense industry “is a unique and strong asset for our national and collective defense capability”.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) was shown the vehicle during a visit to BAE Hägglunds in Örnsköldsvik this spring. Denmark and Sweden have signed a declaration of intent for closer cooperation.