Swedish Minesweeper Upgraded Ahead Of Historic NATO Deployment

IT and electronics specialists Mildef teamed with FMV, the Swedish MoD’s Defence Materiel Administration, to rapidly deliver a new command-and-control (C2) system to the Swedish Navy.

The contract was fulfilled in time to allow Swedish Navy minesweeper HSwMS Ulvön to join NATO's standing mine clearance force Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) at the end of February.

The deployment comes less than a year after Sweden joined NATO; HSwMS Ulvön is the first Swedish ship to be part of one of NATO's standing forces for an extended period.

The C2 system installation was carried out extremely rapidly to be ready for the vessel’s deployment: the order was only placed with Mildef in mid-December last year.

FMV project manager Felix Eklöf commented: “The most difficult thing about this delivery was the short time we had to procure the system and get it accredited — being accredited means that it is secure enough to handle classified information.”

He credited excellent cooperation between navy staff, Mildef, and MUST — Sweden’s Military Intelligence and Security Service — with successfully completing the installation in time, alongside invaluable help from FMV’s Norwegian counterpart, FMA, and Norwegian Cyber ​​Defence.

And he added: “A motto during the project was that we continue forward no matter what. What flew to the sides when we ploughed forward, we handled afterwards.”

The FMV said the new C2 system was “necessary to be able to participate in the force and without it the ship could not have been commanded by NATO.”

On the eve of the deployment HSwMS Ulvön’s Commanding officer Mathias Haglund added: “Both the ship and crew are well-prepared. Being part of the force is both a challenge and an opportunity. We look forward to working closely with our allies, strengthening our cooperation, and learning from each other.”

As per an FMV press statement, Mildef will also be installing the C2 system on a second minesweeper and two Visby-class corvettes during the spring.

• You can read more details on the FMV website and the Swedish Armed Forces website