Sweden hosts French Amiral Ronarc’h FDI frigate as Luleå-class decision enters final phase.

The French Navy’s lead FDI-class frigate Amiral Ronarc’h visited Gothenburg from February 2 to 5, 2026, as Sweden approaches a decision on its four-ship Luleå-class frigate program.

On February 2, 2026, the Swedish Älvsborg Amphibious Regiment (Amf 4) confirmed that the French Navy FDI frigate Amiral Ronarc’h (D660) entered the port of Gothenburg and moored at Arendal for a scheduled visit through February 5. The port call coincided with Sweden’s final evaluation phase for its Luleå-class frigate procurement, in which France participates. Expected in early 2026, the procurement choice, valued at approximately $5 billion, represents Sweden’s first acquisition of large warships since the early 1980s.
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The port call of the Amiral Ronarc’h took place as Sweden evaluates three competing offers for the Luleå-class frigate program, which is estimated at roughly $5 billion and foresees the delivery of two ships by 2030, followed by two additional units by 2035. (Picture source: Ambassade de France en Suède)

The port call took place as Sweden evaluates three competing offers for the four-ship Luleå-class frigate program, which is estimated at roughly $5 billion and foresees the delivery of two ships by 2030, followed by two additional units by 2035. The requirement emphasizes extended endurance, improved air defense, and greater multi-role capability compared with existing Visby- and Göteborg-class corvettes, while relying on existing designs adapted to Swedish combat systems and sensors, in order to meet compressed delivery timelines. Proposals under consideration involve France’s Naval Group with the FDI design, the United Kingdom’s Babcock with a Type 31-based solution, Spain’s Navantia with its light frigate concepts, and Swedish industry participation led by Saab.

This acquisition effort is embedded in Sweden’s wider defense policy shift following NATO entry on March 7, 2024, including a stated objective to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2030, supported by a long-term borrowing plan of 300 billion kronor ($33 billion) spread over eight years. The Luleå-class frigate decision is also unfolding alongside parallel naval rearmament trends, notably Norway’s August commitment to procure British Type 26 frigates for $13.5 billion and Denmark’s ongoing evaluation of new surface combatants, with Copenhagen having indicated interest in coordinating choices with Sweden. Therefore, the French frigate’s port calls in Denmark in January and Sweden in early February reflect a more intense competition for naval contracts across Northern Europe.

Within this competitive setting, the presence of Amiral Ronarc’h provided Swedish officials with direct access to a ship already delivered to its navy and operating at sea, in contrast to proposals associated with vessels still under construction or not yet started. Spain pursued a comparable approach by sending the Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate Almirante Juan de Borbón (F-102) to Stockholm shortly before the French arrival in Gothenburg, while the British offer remained, to date, associated with ships not yet built and without an in-service example available locally. During the Gothenburg stopover, Swedish political and military leaders were scheduled to tour the vesseland engage with French representatives, reinforcing the political and operational visibility of the visit as Sweden approaches its final selection.

The Amiral Ronarc’h is the lead ship of France’s Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention (FDI) class and was delivered to the French Navy on October 17, 2025, after departing the Naval Group shipyard in Lorient for its homeport of Brest on September 15. The ship measures 122 meters in length, has a beam of 17.7 meters, and displaces about 4,460 tonnes, dimensions broadly consistent with those expected for Sweden’s future Luleå-class. Propulsion is provided by a combined diesel and diesel configuration generating about 32 MW, enabling a maximum speed of 27 knots and a range of approximately 5,000 nautical miles at 15 knots.

The frigate operates with a core crew of about 110 personnel, complemented by a 15-person aviation detachment, and is equipped with a flight deck and hangar for one NH90 NFH helicopter as well as an unmanned aerial vehicle. Its baseline armament includes one OTO Melara 76 mm gun, eight Exocet MM40 Block 3C anti-ship missiles, 16 Aster 15 and Aster 30 surface-to-air missiles housed in Sylver A50 vertical launch cells, two twin MU90 lightweight torpedo launchers, and two remotely operated Nexter Narwhal 20 mm systems, supported by electronic warfare and decoy suites.

Sensor and combat system integration on Amiral Ronarc’h centers on the Thales Sea Fire 500 active electronically scanned array radar for air and surface surveillance, combined with the SETIS combat management system. Anti-submarine warfare capabilities rely on the Kingklip Mark II hull-mounted sonar and the CAPTAS 4 Compact towed sonar, while navigation and inertial functions are supported by iXblue MARINS and the NetANS navigation data distribution system. Construction of the ship began with the first steel cutting in October 2019, followed by keel laying in December 2021 and launch in November 2022, with sea trials starting in October 2024 and delivery completed in October 2025, making the Gothenburg visit part of its initial operational deployment phase in northern waters.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.