Sweden's defence industry is unusual in Europe in that it has not been shielded from the winds ol external competition and foreign investment. Instead, the government has rejected protectionism in favour of best value and strategic needs, while taking a laissez-faire approach to acquisitions in strategic sectors. As a result, the Swedish industrial base of today has been forced to pursue innovation to survive and consequently punches above its weight in export markets. The result has been a broad range of niche competencies. The structure of Sweden's industry has also been shaped by market forces rather than specific government intervention, with consolidation in the wider world having directly affected the structure and ownership of the country's military suppliers. As a consequence, much of Sweden's industry is owned by international majors, with Saab the last Swedish-owned, large-scale global contractor. Sweden's defence industrial base employs approximately 20,000 people and around 55 companies beyond Saab and its subsidiaries. Of the 56,43 can be viewed as falling into the small and medium enterprises category. To put this in perspective, the industrial base is roughly one-twentieth the size of that of the UK.
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