The move is in line with a joint effort by France and Sweden to boost their strategic cooperation

As part of a joint effort by France and Sweden to strengthen their strategic cooperation, CEOs of MBDA and Saab, Eric Béranger and Micael Johansson, have agreed to reinforce their companies’ collaboration in anti-tank and air defence fields on 31 January.

According to a press release by MBDA, these two capabilities were identified as critical for both countries’ armed forces, especially in the context of high-intensity conflicts.

France and Sweden decided to boost common efforts under a new strategic partnership signed on 30 January as part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Sweden.

Commenting on the agreement between the two giants, Béranger said: “This is an exciting new step in our long-standing partnership with Saab. We are both world leaders in the anti-tank and air defence domains, and we will be combining our expertise to deliver the best capabilities for the armed forces on the battlefield. The signature of these Letters of Intent is further proof that cooperation lies at the very heart of MBDA’s values.”

“The closeness between Saab and MBDA is reflected in our cooperation over many years, and the deepening and broadening of that through these Letters of Intent is most welcome. Doing this here in Stockholm during the state visit by President Macron to Sweden is symbolic of how two European governments working together can facilitate industry in strengthening our collective security,” Johansson added.

Cooperation in the anti-tank field initially focused on the AKERON MP (formerly known as MMP – Missile Moyenne Portée). A first contract has been awarded to Saab and MBDA by the DGA, the French contracting entity, and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV – Försvarets Materielverk). This will enable the pooling of MBDA and Saab’s expertise in the anti-tank domain to support the French and Swedish armed forces’ choice of the AKERON MP weapon system in the short term.

In addition, this will allow the implementation of a joint capability roadmap to develop new functionalities mainly associated with beyond line-of-sight firing and the need to prepare the missile to address future generations of targets. This roadmap will maintain AKERON MP’s position as the benchmark weapon in its field and an indispensable tool in high-intensity conflicts.

MBDA and Saab are long-standing partners, as their cooperation on the Meteor air-to-air missile programme and the TAURUS cruise missile, as well as in the European MarsEUs consortium that aims to provide a sovereign European beyond line-of-sight missile firing capability show.