The class was originally designed to destroy Soviet submarines and surface vessels, and is armed with eight RBS-15 anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, one 57 mm cannon, and one 40 mm cannon.

The Swedish Navy originally planned to acquire six Göteborg-class corvettes, but following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the final two were cancelled.

Modified in 2019, the two vessels form the subclass Gävle class.

After the modification, the remaining ships were given the subclass name, the Gävle class, as HSwMS Göteborg had been mothballed.

[2][3] During the upgrade the corvettes received new equipment bringing them to the same standard as the Visby class, a significant step in terms of capabilities.