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Swedish Navy Developing Robotic Hatch For Future Anti-Ship Missiles On Visby Corvettes.
Sweden’s Ministry of Defence has greenlit a new robotic weapon hatch for the Visby-class corvettes, designed to host the future generation of Robot 15 anti-ship missiles while keeping the ships’ stealth profile intact. The upgrade pushes the Baltic fleet toward faster, more automated strike options as Stockholm deepens naval commitments inside NATO.
On 5 November 2025, the Swedish MoD announced that the Navy is developing a new robotic hatch system for its Visby-class corvettes, opening a key chapter in the ships’ long-planned missile upgrade. The project aims to prepare the stealth corvettes for the next generation of Robot 15 anti-ship missiles, while preserving their very low radar signature. Coming as Sweden accelerates naval modernization in the Baltic Sea and within NATO, the announcement signals a shift toward more automated, rapidly employable firepower on small surface combatants. For industry and the armed forces alike, the hatch programme has become a flagship example of joint military–civilian development and long-term capability planning.
The Swedish Navy’s angular Visby-class stealth corvette is being refitted with a flush, robotic deck hatch that will conceal and deploy a new generation of longer-range Robot 15 anti-ship missiles while keeping the ship’s radar signature extremely low (Picture Source: Swedish MoD)
The Visby class has been at the centre of Sweden’s concept of stealthy coastal warfare since the first ship was launched in 2000. Built with a carbon fibre–reinforced plastic hull and faceted superstructure, these 72-metre corvettes were designed from the outset to minimise radar, infrared and acoustic signatures, with weapons and sensors largely hidden within the hull behind flush hatches. They carry a mix of anti-ship, anti-submarine and mine-warfare systems, including eight RBS15 anti-ship missiles, lightweight torpedoes, a 57 mm gun and facilities for a light helicopter, optimised for operations in the confined, sensor-rich Baltic environment.
The new robotic hatch system is a direct response to the future Robot 15 configuration the Visby class is expected to employ. Robot 15, part of the wider RBS15 family developed by Saab, has evolved from a sea-skimming coastal defence missile into a long-range, multi-role weapon capable of engaging both ships and land targets at ranges beyond 300 km in its latest Mk IV Gungnir version. Integrating this heavier, longer-ranged generation of missile on a compact stealth corvette places demanding constraints on weight, structural loads, opening sequences and space allocation, particularly when the launcher remains concealed behind large side hatches. The new robotic system is designed to manage these constraints while allowing rapid, reliable operation in all sea states.
A prototype of the launcher and hatch arrangement has been built at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration’s Test and Evaluation Centre in Vidsel, using the same interfaces as those on operational ships. During trials, engineers from the Navy, FMV, Saab Dynamics, and Svekon conducted load tests with a dummy missile to validate structural strength, movement control, and timing. The results met expectations, providing valuable feedback for refining software and maintenance procedures before shipboard installation. This effort forms part of the broader Visby mid-life upgrade, which will see the corvettes equipped with Lockheed Martin’s ExLS and MBDA’s CAMM/Sea Ceptor air-defence missiles from 2026, integrating vertical and horizontal launch systems into an automated, multi-layered weapons suite with a minimal radar signature.
From an operational perspective, the new hatch system is intended to improve both survivability and readiness. Traditional open-deck launchers expose missiles and support equipment to weather, salt and enemy sensors, and they often require manual intervention to ready the weapon for firing. On the Visby class, concealing the launcher behind a large panel protects sensitive electronics and reduces signatures, but it also places high demands on actuators, hinges and locking arrangements to ensure that the hatch can open and close at precisely the right moments, even under high dynamic loads. The robotic solution automates this sequence, coordinating hatch movement with launcher elevation, ship motion and combat system commands, reducing the scope for human error and cutting the time from target designation to missile launch.
The Swedish Navy’s new robotic hatch not only preserves the Visby corvettes’ clean silhouette but also strengthens their ability to handle heavier missiles, reduces crew exposure, and enables rapid, radar-quiet firing under Baltic threats. Installation will be phased in during scheduled upgrades through 2030, ensuring minimal disruption while incorporating lessons learned, with the system ultimately becoming a core element of the corvettes’ modernized, automated combat capability.
Strategically, this development underlines how Sweden intends to use compact surface combatants to create disproportionate effects in its maritime neighbourhood. A Visby equipped with next-generation Robot 15 missiles, modern air defence and an automated weapons handling architecture can threaten high-value targets at long range, contribute to sea denial in narrow waters and integrate more smoothly into NATO’s maritime picture. Because the launchers remain hidden until just before firing, an adversary may find it harder to assess how many missiles are present, from which axis they might be launched or when a salvo is imminent. Combined with Sweden’s growing inventory of coastal and air-launched strike systems, the upgraded corvettes add another layer of unpredictability to any potential crisis in the Baltic Sea.
This robotic hatch initiative shows how a seemingly technical detail can reshape the way a small navy uses its frontline ships. By investing early in the interface between missile and platform, Sweden is ensuring that the Visby class can fully exploit the potential of the next Robot 15 generation while maintaining the stealth characteristics that made these corvettes distinctive in the first place. As the systems roll out across the fleet toward 2030, the Visby will not only carry more capable weapons; it will be able to employ them faster, with greater discretion and in closer coordination with allied forces, reinforcing Sweden’s maritime posture at a time of heightened tension in Northern Europe.
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.