Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Lithuania intend to enhance their military capacities near the Baltic Sea through a collective purchase of multiple CV90 combat vehicles, according to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Tuesday.
Kristersson announced this during a shared press conference in Stockholm alongside his Lithuanian counterpart Gintautas Paluckas, after they had held discussions together.
“At present, our emphasis is on the possibility of a joint acquisition of CV90 infantry fighting vehicles involving Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, and Norway,” stated Kristersson.
“Through potential joint purchasing initiatives, we aim to bolster our collective military strength in the Baltic Sea area,” he stated.
The CV90 combat vehicle is made by BAE Systems Hagglunds in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden.
Kristersson did not provide an exact cost for a potential future purchase.
“They mentioned we’re at least talking about several hundred vehicles, which come with a hefty price tag,” he stated.
He also mentioned, ‘On the contrary, we are increasing our military defense expenditures.’
At the end of March, Sweden announced it would increase defence spending by about 300 billion kronor ($30 billion) over the next decade.
It said it aimed to boost its defence spending to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2030, up from the current 2.4 percent.
The Scandinavian nation abandoned its long-standing policy of military non-alignment, which had lasted about two hundred years, and sought admission to NATO following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. It thereby became the alliance’s 32nd member in March 2024.
The US President Donald Trump requires every NATO country to allocate a minimum of five percent of their GDP towards defense spending.
