Sweden orders additional anti-ship missiles from Saab

April 28 (UPI) -- Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defense Material Administration for production and delivery of additional anti-ship missiles, the company announced Friday.

The missiles will be integrated on Sweden's new Gripen E fighters and Visby class corvettes.

"With these missiles the Swedish Armed Forces will have an outstanding capability to defeat any target, on both land and sea at long distances," Gorgen Johansson, head of Saab's Dynamics business area, said in a press release. "The system also allows them to engage targets regardless of weather conditions and enemy counter-measures."

The next generation anti-ship missile system is based on the company's RBS15 anti-ship missile and will feature greater combat range, an upgraded missile seeker, and lower mass.

RBS15 missiles, jointly produced with Diehl Defense, have a 30-year history of deployment by military services that include navies, coastal batteries and air forces.

Saab first received an FMV order for the new missiles last month, which increases the number of missile systems Sweden had already ordered from the company.

The FMV order for the new missiles is worth a total of about $56.7 million. Deliveries by Saab begin in 2020.