Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 12, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleSweden will spend $440 million on advanced military drones, boosting defense in response to regional tensions and joining NATO.
SALEN, Sweden, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Sweden will spend 4 billion crowns ($437 million) on unmanned drone systems to be delivered over the next two years, the country's Defence Minister Pal Jonson said on Monday.
The NATO member will buy unmanned systems including long-range attack drones, electronic warfare systems and surveillance drones as well as marine surveillance and minesweeping drones.
"No one knows what the next war will look like but one thing is clear, the future battle field will be characterised by unmanned systems and long-range capacity," Jonson said at Sweden's annual defence conference in Salen, northern Sweden.
"Anyone who doesn't understand that is going to be either dead or defeated. War is, as we know, a cruel teacher."
In addition, the government will invest 1.3 billion crowns in new military satellites, Jonson said.
European Union member Sweden, which joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in March 2024, has been ramping up permanent military spending since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Swedish government is also borrowing 300 billion crowns to speed up the acquisition of new equipment such as air defence systems, submarines and surface ships.
($1 = 9.1525 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Johan Ahlander, writing by Simon Johnson, editing by Alexander Smith)
A military drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used in military operations for surveillance, reconnaissance, and combat missions.
Electronic warfare involves the use of electromagnetic spectrum to disrupt enemy operations, including jamming communications and radar.
Surveillance technology refers to tools and systems used to monitor activities and gather information, often for security purposes.
Military satellites are spacecraft used by armed forces for communication, navigation, and reconnaissance purposes.
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