Image Credits: Swedish Coast Guard
Sweden will equip its civilian coast guard vessels with Ksp 58 machine guns in response to a more uncertain security situation in the Baltic Sea linked to increased Russian activity.
The move comes as Sweden, NATO’s newest member, steps up efforts to improve maritime security in the Baltic.
The country has also increased action against Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of ageing, often poorly maintained and inadequately insured tankers carrying oil and other commodities through the region.
Sweden has urged neighbouring countries to take similar measures.
Swedish Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin announced the decision during a visit to the coast guard vessel Triton on the island of Gotland. He said the machine guns would allow coast guard personnel to better protect themselves while carrying out operations at sea.
“We are seeing how the heightened tensions in our surrounding region are being reflected in an increasingly uncertain security situation in the Baltic Sea,” Bohlin said.
He said the changing security environment means the Swedish Coast Guard is taking on a partly new role and must be able to protect itself, its personnel and respond to threats during its operations.
The Swedish Coast Guard (Kustbevakningen) is a civilian agency under the country’s Ministry of Defence.
The Ksp 58 machine guns will first be installed on Sweden’s three largest coast guard vessels, KBV 002 Triton, KBV 001 Poseidon and KBV 003 Amfitrite, which entered service in 2009.
Triton will receive the weapons first, before they are gradually fitted on the other vessels. The upgrade programme is expected to continue until 2030.
The Ksp 58 is the Swedish version of the Belgian FN MAG machine gun and has been used by the Swedish Armed Forces since 1958. The latest version includes a Picatinny rail, a new stock, improved ergonomics and compatibility with modern sights.
Bohlin said Finland has already equipped its coast guard vessels with similar weapons, while he believes other neighbouring countries have not yet done so.
“I would say Finland is probably ahead of us in this respect, but we are likely in a solid second place when it comes to implementing this capability,” he said.
Sweden has recently increased inspections of vessels linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. On at least two occasions, Swedish officers boarded ships they suspected were sailing under false flags.
The announcement comes as security-related activity continues in the Baltic region.
Recent photographs published by military observer Massimo Frantarelli and analysed by Russian military commentators showed the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet landing ship Aleksandr Shabalin fitted with green anti-drone netting around parts of its superstructure and deck.
The Project 775 (Ropucha-class) landing ship was reportedly photographed while escorting the Russian cargo ship Mikhail Britnev in the Baltic Sea.
According to the Russian military Telegram channel Voenny Osvedomitel, the netting is designed to provide limited protection against drone attacks.
The channel said it could potentially stop first-person-view (FPV) drones but would not be effective against larger FP-2-type drones reportedly used in attacks on Russian naval vessels.
Separately, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, said Ukraine’s Defence Forces intercepted and destroyed several Russian unmanned attack boats that attempted to approach and strike the country’s coastline.
References: Bloomberg, united24media
