Sweden’s defence budget to rise by 18% next year

Sweden’s government has proposed to increase defence spending by 18% next year, totalling SEK175 billion (USD18.4 billion).

Representing an increase of SEK26.6 billion compared with the previous year, the 2026 budget – now with the Riksdag (Sweden’s Parliament) for approval – will be the “most extensive reinforcement of defence since the Cold War”, the Swedish government announced on 15 September.

If approved, Sweden’s defence spending will reach 2.8% of GDP in 2026 and 3.1% by 2028, putting it on track to meet NATO’s target of 3.5% by 2035.

For equipment purchases specifically, spending will rise by SEK12 billion next year, with acquisitions prioritising the following:

• Army: air defence, rocket artillery, ammunition, and combat vehicles.
• Navy: surface combatants and combat boats.
• Air Force: tactical transport aviation and a “long-range combat capability” (this refers to Sweden’s future fighter aircraft concept, which Saab is leading).  

Notably on ‘combat vehicles’, Sweden issued a request for information in July for new infantry fighting vehicles ahead of a future procurement programme. The effort aims to complement and eventually replace the military’s tracked armoured Combat Vehicle 90s (CV90s) from BAE Systems Hägglunds, some of which have been in-service since the 1990s.

The budget also notably states that it will lease up to four Archer self-propelled howitzers to Latvia and allow the country to purchase 18 new systems.

An “additional SEK50 million”, meanwhile, will be allocated next year to finance a “strengthened equipment development programme”, although it is unclear what the budget is referring to.

Alongside equipment purchases, the government is prioritising investment in research and advanced technology, with a new defence innovation unit set up to support this.

Additional funds may also be provided next year through a ‘2026 Spring Amendment Budget’, enabling quick acquisitions or “when the opportunity arises to bring acquisitions forward”, as was the case this year.