APRIL 2026

Dear friends of SACC-DC,

This year’s Nordic Innovation Forum (NIF) proved to be an extraordinarily successful event. Attendance was higher than ever in the 5 years since we began NIF with our Norwegian and Finnish counterparts. The Embassy of Finland was a superb host, with a special thank you to our collaborating partners, NorCham and the Embassy of Sweden, especially its defense section. Above all, I would like to extend my appreciation to our corporate members, BAE Systems Bofors and Pillsbury Law, whose generous sponsorship made this excellent event possible. I am already looking forward to next year’s NIF.

In mid‑April, I had the pleasure - together with SACC‑USA CEO Karin Hammar - of discussing trade conditions for Swedish companies with Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Adnan Dibrani. Our conversation focused on how tariffs, regulatory uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions are affecting business planning and outcomes. We highlighted the U.S. Administration’s preference for bilateral, business‑oriented agreements, which can be challenging to accommodate from a European Union member state perspective.

Regarding the current Administration’s financial objectives, we emphasized that priorities related to domestic production and employment are bipartisan and likely to persist over the long term, even in light of the upcoming mid-term Congressional elections this year and whether the U.S. president is a Republican or a Democrat. Finally, we underscored the importance of Sweden better leveraging its strong investment footprint in the U.S., while strengthening dialogue that supports the growth of Swedish companies operating here.

Mr. Dibrani noted that his approach to trade policy is highly multipartisan and highlighted strong alignment with his political counterpart, MEP Jorgen Warborn, whom SACC‑DC met last year. This cross‑party consensus was encouraging and underscored continuity and broad support for a pro‑trade agenda relevant to Swedish companies in the U.S. Unfortunately, while Mr. Dibrani declined the opportunity to meet directly with our member companies, I am hopeful that Karin and I served as good ambassadors on behalf of our members.

Turning to this month's newsletter, I am proud to highlight our corporate member MilDef in this issue. Mr. Olof Engvall, Head of IR & Communications, shares his insights about the company.

On May 13, SACC‑DC and the Embassy of Sweden will co‑host an event focused on Swedish trade policy, key priorities, and the latest developments in Swedish–American relations. Weather permitting, the evening will conclude with a networking reception on the Embassy’s rooftop. For more information and to register, please see: TRADE & NETWORKING at the Embassy. Please join us!

This year’s SACC DC Open will take place at Blue Mash Golf Club on October 15, 2026. While planning is still in its early stages, we have begun identifying sponsors for this flagship event. If you would like to follow the example of our Platinum Sponsor, Nammo, or our other sponsors and become a sponsor, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at robert.andersson@sacc-dc.org. For more information about the SACC DC Open, see: Annual SACC-DC Golf Open | SACC Washington DC.

Looking ahead to the summer, we are considering some additional member events - not least in light of the fact that Sweden’s national football team has qualified for the World Cup at the very last moment. While no plans are finalized yet, we encourage you to follow our social media channels - Linkedin and instagram - for potential updates.

In the meantime, please note other Sweden‑related events we are happy to promote:

• As part of the celebrations marking 250 years of U.S. independence, the Swedish Navy training ship HMS Gladan will dock in Baltimore Harbor. More information is available at Sail250 Maryland & Airshow Baltimore. In addition, the historic ship Kalmar Nyckel may be visible in the Washington, DC area in June. For further details, see Sails on the Potomac: Alexandria Commemorates America’s 250th. 
• Regarding Sweden’s most important celebration of the year – Midsummer Eve – it appears that the Embassy of Sweden will once again host a celebration on the National Mall, following last year’s successful event. As June 19 approaches, the Embassy will surely provide additional information for those interested in attending.

Finally, a quick note that about our payment system update for Individual members. In January, SACC‑DC transitioned the payment process for individual members from PayPal to Stripe. One benefit of Stripe is that membership renewal reminders are sent automatically after twelve months. While we had some minor administrative issues at first, we believe those have now been resolved. As a heads‑up, if you paid your individual membership fee before December 31, 2025, there is a small risk that you may not receive an automatic renewal reminder. By next year, the rolling annual renewals will be fully operational.

I look forward to seeing many of you soon at the May 13th event. Please register asap, as the space is filling up quickly! Until then, I wish you all a wonderful month of May.

Warm regards, 

Robert Andersson

Executive Director

We recently sat down with our member MILDEF and their Head of IR and Communications, Olof Engvall, for an insightful conversation on the company’s latest developments, strategic priorities, and outlook.

Who is MILDEF?

MILDEF is a fast-growing Swedish defense technology company. It was founded in 1997 and develops highly robust IT equipment for the defense sector. This includes all types of IT systems and computers—essentially everything you can imagine for military and defense applications.

We design and develop our products in Sweden for customers across Europe and North America. Our headquarters and production facilities are located in Helsingborg, with a major office and integration activity in Stockholm and operations in Germany. We also have +20 employees spread across the United States, including an heads office in Brea, Los Angeles.

In total, we have approximately 600 employees. The company has been publicly listed since 2021 and is Sweden’s second-largest listed defense technology company after SAAB. Major customers include BAE Systems, SAAB, Kongsberg, Rheinmetall and Nordic and European state procurement organizations. Growth has been very rapid in recent years. Our main focus is enabling digitalization for a data-driven defense. Modern defense requires computing power and digital infrastructure, and we provide that through high-performance hardware that supports military software systems. We collaborate closely with companies such as SAAB, BAE Systems Bofors, and Hägglunds.

What are your most important markets?

The Nordic region and Europe are our primary focus, but we also have a significant presence in North America with a strong and growing customer base. While we mainly support defense forces in the Nordics and Europe, we are also devoted to expansion in North America.

With a focus on digitalization, what makes you different?

Digitalization and IT are not straightforward in military environments. Civilian technology simply does not hold up under these conditions, so there is a need for ruggedized equipment at a completely different level.

This niche is highly regulated, with strict requirements for certifications and reliability. The equipment must work flawlessly in critical situations and must never fail. It is a trust-based industry—we are ultimately protecting lives and democracy.

MILDEF has been around for 30 years, and historically this sector was not very attractive, so competition was limited. Now, however, demand has increased rapidly as countries realize the importance of investing in this area. The U.S. has long been highly digitalized, but Europe scaled down much of its defense capabilities after the 1980s. What we are seeing now is a rebuilding phase, together with many other defense companies.

How do new technologies like AI and cybersecurity impact MILDEF’s development?

Cybersecurity is fundamentally transformative—if it fails, the entire system fails. AI builds on top of that, enabling the ability to predict outcomes and identify patterns, which is crucial in what is essentially an information-driven form of warfare.

We deliver complete, sustainable system solutions—not just data, but the entire IT infrastructure that supports AI and cybersecurity. While we are part of the digitalization process, we focus on hardware rather than software.

We are still at an early stage when it comes to AI and cybersecurity in the military. There has not been much of this equipment in army systems historically, so it is difficult to predict exactly where things are heading. However, there is broad agreement that digitalization is essential.

The world is quite unstable right now—how does MILDEF view the future?

We see strong growth over the next 5–10 years, driven by close collaboration with our partners. One of the biggest challenges is delivery capacity. But a challenge we address vigorously. 

There is a saying: “Not long ago, there was plenty of time but no money. Now there is plenty of money but no time.” That perfectly describes the situation today. Defense systems across Europe are being rapidly expanded based on political decisions, and everyone is trying to move as quickly as possible.

The challenge is that many countries are competing for the same resources and capabilities at the same time. This creates bottlenecks—what you could call “growing pains” in terms of scaling and delivery. The solution lies in increased collaboration and standardization to build capabilities faster.

Which companies would you like to collaborate with?

At the moment, we have the partnerships we need, but there is a strong focus on securing components, suppliers, and expertise globally.