Saab announced in 2021 that it had signed an agreement with Swedish defence procurement for the development of plans for a Visby upgrade. One aspect of the upgrade is for the introduction of a surface-to-air missile capability.
The Swedish Navy’s Visby-class corvettes are to be equipped with an anti-aircraft capability under a SEK1.6 billion (US$166 million) contract placed by the Swedish Defence Procurement Agency (FMV) with Saab.
The addition of the capability is part of a mid-life upgrade for the ships which are expected to remain in service until 2040.
The corvettes will thus be equipped with the ship-based air defence missile system Sea Ceptor and Common Anti-air Modular Missiles (CAMM) and in 2023 the FMV awarded a contract to MBDA for the supply of CAMM missiles.
The upgrade will be carried out at Saab in Karlskrona with a planned start in 2026. Saab’s Kockums is the main contractor and the work is being carried out in cooperation with the suppliers MBDA UK and Lockheed Martin.