Sweden will urgently purchase 15,000 assault rifles from the United States for its army.

The Swedish state television company Sveriges Television (SVT) reported on this.

It regards Colt M4A1 assault rifles.

The procurement takes place against the backdrop of an agreement signed in 2023 for AK 24 assault rifles developed and manufactured by the Finnish company Sako.

The Swedish Army has already received the first batch of AK 24s under this program.

Their number is 1200 units, and an official ceremony of taking the new model into service is scheduled for December 16.

By the end of this year, Sweden was to receive about 7,300 new AK 24 assault rifles, which will be used to equip the advanced mechanized units of the Swedish army and marines.

However, the Finnish weapons cannot be delivered at the required speed because the direct procurement with Sako was challenged by the German competitor Heckler & Koch.

“We need to immediately provide weapons to the [Swedish] Armed Forces. In addition to the normal procurement, we have made this interim order to cover a possible gap that may arise,” says Jonas Lotsne, Director of the Ground Systems Department at the Swedish Defense Materiel Agency

Therefore, Sweden decided to purchase the rifles directly from the US Army. In documents obtained by SVT, the deal is described as urgent.

The purchase includes the acquisition of 15,000 Colt M4A1 assault rifles, which will be used by all soldiers: from conscripts to career soldiers and officers, as well as in missions abroad, such as in Latvia.

The cost of the emergency purchase was not disclosed.