Steen Defense - A New Swedish Contender in the Small Arms Market

Please note that all of the Steen Defense firearms in this article are prototypes; that’s why some parts have crude CNC machining and there are 3D printed parts without the correct surface finishing. The finished product will look better once it’s on the market.  

The thought - or rather, the question - I kept coming back to was simple: Why doesn’t Sweden manufacture small-caliber firearms? These are, after all, the most common weapons carried by both combat and non-combat personnel in any modern armed force. No matter how advanced our drones, night vision gear, or missile systems become, most soldiers still carry a carbine for personal protection.

Our mission became clear: use Sweden’s deep engineering expertise, talented workforce, and robust defense ecosystem to design and build small arms to the highest possible standard - in true Swedish engineering fashion.

If you look at how Swedish systems like the Archer artillery platform, the CV90, the Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank upgrades, and the RBS 70 or Robot 57 have been received in places like Ukraine, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Swedish-made defense equipment delivers! Our aim is to bring that same level of performance and reliability to the world of small-caliber firearms.

TFB: Please tell us about your background in the industry, and how things developed since the foundation back in 2022.

André Steen: Now, I don’t come from a military, law enforcement, or engineering background - in fact, nothing in my past really qualifies me to develop a weapon system. So I took on this challenge with a heavy dose of humility... and a fair bit of naivety, something that’s become clearer as the project has progressed.

Our first move was to start building a network in the defense industry. Fairly early on, and thanks to supportive partners, we were able to meet with a Swedish Special Forces operator. We asked this person to start with a blank sheet of paper and sketch out their vision of the ideal automatic carbine. That blueprint became our starting point.

Licensing, development, and assembling the right team all took time - but with a strong foundation and lots of support from people who believed in what we were doing, we’ve moved from prototype to full production. Today, we’re offering two calibers: .300 AAC Blackout and 5.56 NATO.

Steen Defense’s long-term goal is to offer a complete range of small-caliber weapon systems. As demand grows and operational needs evolve,  they’ll continue to expand their lineup accordingly, and I did hear talks about Hornady’s 6mm ARC with a longer barrel.

While I’m sure that the company would like to be able to offer semi-automatic versions for sports shooters and collectors in the future, please note that these are only sold to Law Enforcement and the Military at this point in time.

Live-fire drills with the Steen Defense SD1-MCR and SD1-MTR.

While the visit to the office and interview with Steen Defense was highly interesting, here’s what you really waited for. We drove to a Varpsund’s indoor shooting range, with a cinematic automatic scoring system. Again, as these were prototype firearms I will keep it fairly brief, and return with a deeper, more final conclusion as soon as I have the possibility to try the production ones.

I am not 100% sure about all of the internals on these prototypes, but from memory they ran Geissele triggers, Lothar Walther barrels and JP Silent captured springs. Optics were delivered by Aimpoint. The Steen rifles all appeared to me as soft-recoiling, not over-gassed, especially if you consider that these models are intended to be used by soldiers. The overall build quality felt refined and robust, indicating careful attention to detail during manufacturing, even at this early stage.

What’s worth noting is that the 300 Blackout cycled with supersonics regardless if the ASE Utra suppressor was mounted or not, and there’s no need to switch the gas system. There were no subsonics around, but according to Steen Defense there’s no need to change anything for the gun to cycle.

Another video with the Steen Defense SD1-MTR (300AAC Blackout):

A few weeks after my first experience with these rifles, I was sent this image from the first production batch that was Cerakoted in a variety of colors. Note the outline of the Swedish flag that is machined into the magazine well.

The trigger guard is certainly a design feature that stands out, but for the Nordic temperatures it’s a must to be able to use winter gloves every now and then. Magpul furniture is standardized. Also note the two different lengths of the ASE Utra suppressors.

The first production batch will be available shortly, and there are some minor design tweaks, both external and internal. Rest assured, we will try those out as well.

To learn more about Steen Defense, check out their website: https://steendefense.se/

If your unit is interested in these rifles, please send Steen Defense an email and ask for more details.