Maritime drones in the Baltic Sea could begin operating jointly for Finland and Sweden before the end of 2026, as the two countries explore a shared procurement of unmanned surveillance vessels. The plan is part of closer Finnish-Swedish military cooperation in the region and comes as Sweden prepares to deploy a corvette to support Finnish territorial surveillance in the Gulf of Finland.
The proposal was announced by Commander of the Finnish Navy Tuomas Tiilikainen after a meeting with his Swedish counterpart at Suomenlinna, the sea fortress outside Helsinki, on Wednesday 16 September.
According to Yle, Finland and Sweden are examining whether to jointly acquire Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) and then share the capability between their navies.
How Finland and Sweden could use maritime drones
The vessels under consideration are small uncrewed surface craft that resemble sailing boats. They can carry sensors, cameras and radar equipment and transmit information directly to naval operations centres.
This would allow military authorities to build a more detailed maritime situational picture, detect unknown vessels and decide whether crewed ships need to carry out identification missions.
Tiilikainen said the new system could enter operational use relatively quickly.
“At this point, it’s probably the case that we will jointly procure this kind of capacity for our use and share that resource with each other temporarily, so that both countries benefit from this joint procurement.”
The Finnish Navy commander said a short-term joint surveillance operation using unmanned vessels could begin before the end of 2026.
The planned procurement has not yet been presented as a completed acquisition. Finland and Sweden are currently examining how the capability could be purchased and operated jointly.
Sweden will send a corvette to the Gulf of Finland
The maritime drone project comes alongside a separate Finnish-Swedish surveillance operation that is expected to begin within weeks.
Sweden will deploy a naval corvette to support surveillance around Finnish waters and in the Gulf of Finland. The vessel will operate under Finnish command for the duration of the mission and transmit information to Finland’s maritime operations centre.
The deployment is part of broader Swedish military support requested by Helsinki. The Swedish Armed Forces announced in August that Sweden would provide Finland with assets capable of detecting and countering drones, including warships and fighter aircraft, with ground-based counter-drone units also potentially available. Swedish Armed Forces announcement on military support to Finland
Swedish support will allow the Finnish Navy to concentrate more of its own resources in the eastern Gulf of Finland, particularly on monitoring possible unmanned aircraft approaching Finnish territory.
“In certain circumstances, it’s good that we can concentrate our own capability on the southeastern corner and receive support for maritime surveillance in another direction from our allies,” Tiilikainen told Yle.
Finland has faced several incidents involving drones near its territory. On 1 September, an unmanned aircraft was found on the coast near Porvoo after a possible territorial violation in the Gulf of Finland. Finnish authorities said preliminary information indicated that the aircraft was designed for surveying and mapping, while the Border Guard and police opened an investigation. Finnish Ministry of Defence statement on the Porvoo drone incident
Maritime drones are becoming part of Baltic Sea security
The Finnish-Swedish initiative also fits into a broader shift towards uncrewed maritime surveillance across the Baltic Sea.
NATO launched its Baltic Sentry activity in January 2025 after a series of incidents involving critical undersea infrastructure. The Alliance has since tested autonomous systems alongside conventional naval assets to increase surveillance coverage and improve the detection of suspicious activity.
During NATO’s Task Force X-Baltic programme, more than 70 air and maritime drones were tested in 2025. In February 2026, Finland, Sweden and six other NATO countries agreed to accelerate the acquisition and integration of technology-based capabilities for maritime operations. NATO agreement on technology for Baltic Sea security
NATO says the experience demonstrated that autonomous systems can improve situational awareness and help monitor threats to critical undersea infrastructure, including energy and communications links.
For Finland and Sweden, the proposed joint purchase would take this cooperation a step further by creating a capability that the two countries could operate and share directly. Together with the Swedish corvette deployment, it reflects the increasingly integrated way in which the two NATO allies are organising surveillance and defence in the Baltic Sea.
