The operation of the RBS15 Gungnir, an anti-ship missile named after Odin's spear

Sweden is a country with a long history in naval artillery thanks to Bofors, a company whose origins date back to 1646.

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In 1999, Saab acquired the Celsius Group, of which Bofors was then a part. The following year, the historic Swedish artillery company split in two: Saab sold the artillery division to United Defense Industries (now part of BAE Systems). Meanwhile, the Swedish company retained Bofors' missile division, now called Saab Bofors Dynamics.

Currently, Saab Bofors Dynamics has two flagship anti-ship missile products: the RBS17, a small, short-range (8 km) missile developed from the American AGM-114C Hellfire air-to-surface missile, and the RBS15, a long-range missile with air-to-surface and surface-to-surface versions. It has been in service since 1984 and is currently operated by the armed forces of Sweden, Germany, Finland, Poland, Croatia, Algeria, and Thailand.

The initial versions of the RBS15 had a range of 70 km, a considerable distance for a subsonic missile capable of reaching a speed of Mach 0.9 (1,111 km/h). The most recent version of this missile is the RBS15 MkIV Gungnir, a highly symbolic name from Norse mythology: it was the name of Odin's spear, the god of war. This version far surpasses the range of its predecessors: according to Saab, this missile can reach targets at more than 300 km.

This missile could become the Russian fleet's worst nightmare. The Gungnir flies at sea level, making it very difficult for the enemy to detect. It is capable of flying in all weather conditions, and its target acquisition radar has been improved to evade countermeasures. The Gungnir weighs 650 kg; a Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighter jet can be armed with two of these missiles. Each carries a warhead of approximately 200 kg of high explosive. The missile is 4.35 meters long, with a wingspan of 1.4 meters. It is specifically designed for coastal areas but can also be used on the high seas.

This Friday, Saab released a short computer-animated film demonstrating the operation of the RBS15 Gungnir. The high-quality video shows the missile being launched from the air, land, and sea, and includes naval and land targets. Significantly, the naval targets seen in the video are Chinese Type 052D destroyers, among the most modern warships of that communist dictatorship:

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Images: Saab.