BAE Systems lands $180 million Sweden air-defence contract as Europe races to rearm
BAE Systems landed a $180 million deal with Sweden on April 2 for its TRIDON Mk2 air-defense system, a chunk of an 8.7 billion crown package signaling that European governments continue to pour money into countering drones and aerial threats. Saab was named in the order as well. European governments keep funneling funds into air-defense and anti-drone tech—tools to spot and jam unmanned aircraft—lessons learned after Ukraine. Sweden plans to bump military spending to 2.8% of GDP by 2026 and up to 3.5% by 2030, which feeds a demand surge. BAE had already flagged in February that this trend sent its order backlog—work booked but undelivered—to a record 83.6 billion pounds.