Yes, Sweden is a small nation. They have a population of 10.2 million souls. The USA is a little more than 32-times larger than Sweden. That doesn’t mean we can learn something from them

I have a bias towards the Swedes, as I’ve had a Volvo of one kind or another in my garage for well over two decades. My dad had a thing for Saabs when you could still buy their cars. I was also impressed with the Swedish officers I had a chance to serve with. I give them a lot of credit individually and as a nation as, at least militarily, they’ve earned it.

Let’s look at their Visby Class Corvettes for a bit. The first of five was commissioned in 2002, six years before LCS-1. The last one in 2015. Five may sound small to the American mind, but upscaled to population, that would be 175 ships. So, no small investment for a nation that only borders on the Baltic Sea.

How is that program going?

Saab and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, (FMV), have signed two agreements concerning the next generation of surface ships and corvettes. A Product Definition Phase for the Mid-Life Upgrades (MLU) of five Visby-class corvettes, as well as a Product Definition Phase for the next generation; Visby Generation 2 corvettes.

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The experience and knowledge that the Visby class has gathered over the years will feed into the development of Visby Generation 2,” said Lars Tossman, Head of Business Area Kockums.

The Visby Generation 2 is a development of Visby-class version 5 and will be equipped with a modern anti-ship missile system, torpedo system and air defence missile system.

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The product definition phase regarding Mid-Life Upgrades, aims to make the five ships in the class operationally relevant beyond 2040. In addition to modifying the ships’ existing systems, an air defence missile system will be added as a new capability. The RBS15 anti-ship missile system will be upgraded to the latest version as well as will the torpedo system with the new Saab Lightweight Torpedo.

It isn’t the nation’s size that matters, but what it does. It isn’t the amount of money they spend either. These are domestically designed and produced warships; innovative in their own right, but iterative in their development.

What can we learn from the Swedes when it comes to program management, long term leadership focus, and successful execution?