Breaking News
NATO’s Baltic Shield Strengthens as Sweden Deploys Anti-Aircraft Guns in Latvia.
Sweden will station anti-aircraft guns with its NATO unit in Latvia starting in 2026, its first such deployment since the 1960s. The move bolsters the alliance’s short-range air defenses against drones and low-flying threats across the Baltic region.
Sweden will deploy anti-aircraft guns with its unit in Latvia in 2026, marking its first gun-based air-defense contribution to an operational NATO mission since the 1960s, according to Swedish public radio Ekot. The move comes as low-cost drones and slow, low-flying threats increasingly saturate frontlines across Europe, elevating the value of short-range, high-readiness systems. Swedish officers state that the capability is essential to meet the air threats facing NATO forces. This deployment strengthens the alliance’s point-defense layer on the Baltic flank and reflects Stockholm’s adaptation to today’s drone-heavy battlefield.
The Lvkv 9040 is a Swedish self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on the CV90 infantry fighting vehicle, armed with a 40 mm Bofors cannon and advanced radar for targeting low-flying aircraft and drones (Picture Source: Swedish MoD)
The systems Sweden is expected to field for this mission include the Luftvärnskanonvagn (Lvkv) 9040, the self-propelled, gun-based air-defense variant of the CV90 family. The Lvkv 9040 combines the proven 40 mm Bofors L/70 cannon, capable of firing programmable air-burst ammunition, with an integrated surveillance and fire-control suite, described in open sources as the PS-95 radar housed in a distinctive cylindrical mount on an enlarged turret. This configuration allows autonomous search, tracking, and engagement at short ranges against helicopters, cruise-missile-class targets and, under permissive conditions, drones. While based on the CV90 chassis for mobility and parts commonality, the Lvkv 9040 is optimized to engage from short halts rather than on the move, aligning with its point-defense role over maneuver brigades and fixed NATO positions in Latvia.
Sweden’s gun-based air defense has long been used on home territory but has seen little expeditionary deployment. This makes the upcoming mission notable: Swedish media emphasize it is the first time since the Congo crisis era that Stockholm will send anti-aircraft guns to an operational deployment abroad. The decision underscores Sweden’s return to high-intensity deterrence operations alongside NATO in the Baltics and the recognition that short-range air defense has once again become a key enabler of combined-arms operations.
From a capability standpoint, the Lvkv 9040’s 40 mm programmable rounds provide a valuable balance between missile-based and smaller-caliber gun systems. Compared to Germany’s Gepard, equipped with twin 35 mm guns and AHEAD-type air-burst munitions, the Swedish system trades volume of fire for a modern 40 mm effect and a lighter, CV90-derived platform easier to sustain in mixed armored formations. The Gepard’s performance in Ukraine has reaffirmed the continuing relevance of gun-based air defense against Shahed-type UAVs but also highlighted the logistical importance of assured ammunition production and supply chains, factors NATO planners are now considering in forward deployments.
Relative to newer European systems such as Rheinmetall’s Skyranger 30, soon entering service on Boxer platforms with 30 mm air-burst ammunition, multisensor suites and compact remote turrets, the Lvkv 9040 offers immediate availability within Sweden’s inventory and a more powerful single-shot payload from the 40 mm caliber. However, this comes with trade-offs, such as a heavier manned turret and the absence of firing-on-the-move capability. The Skyranger 30 represents the direction of future NATO SHORAD development: highly automated, multisensor, networked gun systems. For Latvia in 2026, though, Sweden’s fielding of a ready, proven gun system with trained crews will fill a near-term protection gap for NATO bases and logistics areas.
In comparison with Russia’s 2S38 “Derivatsiya-PVO” 57 mm gun vehicle, which emphasizes longer range and heavier fragmentation, Sweden’s 40 mm approach prioritizes responsive, precise, and cost-effective air-burst firepower at the most common engagement distances in the Baltic theater. The 2S38 offers reach and lethality but remains less combat-proven and more logistically demanding. In NATO’s layered defense concept, where guns complement MANPADS and radar-guided missiles, the Swedish 40 mm system fits a vital niche rather than competing with higher-tier assets.
Strategically, deploying gun-based air defense to Latvia enhances NATO’s inner defensive layer against drones, loitering munitions, and low-flying cruise missiles, threats that can evade or saturate high-end missile defenses. Geopolitically, it signals Sweden’s full integration into NATO force packages on the eastern flank, contributing a persistent and cost-effective protection capability. Militarily, the presence of Lvkv-type assets complicates adversary reconnaissance and strike planning by establishing dense, mobile point-defense zones around high-value nodes, reducing the effectiveness of slow-flying UAVs and forcing opponents to expend more advanced or costly munitions. As NATO continues integrating sensor-to-shooter networks, Swedish gun systems can be cued by shared radars and unmanned detectors, amplifying their effect without expending missiles.
Sweden’s decision to reintroduce gun-based air defense in an overseas NATO mission is both practical and symbolic: it reflects an acknowledgment of the drone threat as a defining feature of modern warfare and a commitment to defending allied forces and infrastructure in the Baltic region with reliable, sustainable systems. By deploying platforms such as the Lvkv 9040 alongside allied systems like the Gepard and upcoming Skyranger modules, Stockholm helps close a critical layer in Europe’s air-defense architecture, demonstrating that in an era of cheap aerial threats, gun systems with programmable ammunition remain indispensable to credible deterrence and day-to-day force protection.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.