A missile quantity and a timeline for the PAC-2 contract was not disclosed but the move comes as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushes partner nations to agree on new air defense weapon system commitments.
The procurement is for the Swedish army brigades and for the battle group on Gotland to “better defend the military forces we have,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said.
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.
The Diehl statement did not explain the defining features of the Block II upgrade, sharing only that the missile will be “improved continuously and will continue to set benchmarks with new capabilities in its original air-to-air role.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius encouraged allies, including the US, to “arrive” at military expenditure of 3 percent GDP – though declined to put forward a timeline for such change to occur.
If all options are exercised under the contract, the European nations will buy a combined total of 1,000 Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T), according to manufacturer RTX.
Switzerland made clear that it will “examine” areas where co-operation can be strengthened, with a plan to specifically address information exchange and training for the US-made Patriot air defense system, of which it ordered five units in June 2021.
The Sixth Domain is not defined by geography. It’s a new kind of conflict in which autonomy and networked systems allow thousand-dollar consumer electronics to destroy multi-million-dollar conventional weapons systems.