Sweden arms coast guard vessels with machine guns due to threats from Russia’s “shadow fleet”

The Ksp 58 machine guns will first be installed on the three largest boats, and the rest of the fleet will be gradually re-equipped by 2030.

Sweden is equipping civilian coast guard vessels with machine guns to more effectively counter threats from Russian-linked vessels in the Baltic Sea. This is повідомляє reported by Bloomberg.

During a visit to the Triton vessel on the island of Gotland, Swedish Minister of Civil Defense Karl-Oskar Bolin said that the Ksp 58 machine gun will allow the coast guard to defend itself more effectively at sea.

“We see how the escalation of tensions in our region is reflected in an increasingly uncertain security situation in the Baltic Sea. This means that the Swedish coast guard is taking on a partly new role and needs to be able to protect itself, its personnel and respond to different types of threats that may arise during its operations,” he said.

Machine guns will first be installed on the three largest boats, in particular on the Triton, and by 2030 the rest of the fleet will be gradually modernized. Bolin noted that Finland already has similar weapons, while other neighboring states have not yet taken such measures.

Recall that since the spring of 2025, tankers of the Russian “shadow fleet” began to be accompanied by Russian mercenaries, formally listed as “guards” – some of whom previously fought against Ukraine.

As USM wrote the day before, Ukraine is developing naval drones for the remote detention of ships of the Russian “shadow fleet”.