On November 7, the Swedish government announced it will begin negotiations with U.S. company Raytheon for a $1.2 billion Patriot missile defense sale. The Swedish Armed Forces and the Defense Material Administration (FMV) chose Patriot over the French consortium Eurosam’s SAMP/T. “This is a major investment in the Swedish defence capability as well as the beginning of a long-term cooperation between Sweden and the USA in the area of surface-to-air defence and our discussions have yet to take place,” said Joakim Lewin, Manager of Army Programs for FMV. The timeline for system delivery is 2020, with Swedish Patriot batteries projected to reach operational capability by 2025.