Sweden arms sales boom raises questions over its customer list

Alongside a global reputation for peacemaking and generous foreign aid, Sweden has become a major world supplier of weapons, including to regimes criticised for human rights abuses.

Ranked third for arms exports per capita after Israel and Russia, Sweden's booming industry has stirred ethical concerns at home about some countries with which it is doing business.

Against this backdrop, Saab technicians are building an assembly line for the next generation of Gripen fighters equipped with state-of-the-art warfare systems and larger weapons bays.

The Gripen E, designed to stand up to Russia's best planes, boasted a networking system allowing planes to communicate and divide up tasks such as detecting, electronic jamming and firing, Saab operations chief Lars Ydreskog said at the production plant in Linkoeping.

"It was this tactical way of working that was noticed by Brazil and Switzerland," he said, referring to the recent selection of Saab's fighter jet over French and United States competition.

Saab and other Sweden-based firms including BAE Systems and Bofors have been hugely successful in the 2000s, last year alone selling weapons and defence material to 55 countries to the value of US$1.8 billion.

But critics claim that Sweden has become more inclined to arm regimes accused of human rights abuses, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, as demand from Western nations has declined since the cold war ended.