The ''Blekinge''-class submarine is the next generation of

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s developed by Kockums for the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

, also known as the A26 type. First planned at the beginning of the 1990s, the project was called "''U-båt 2000''" and was intended to be ready by the late 1990s or early 2000. With the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

the naval threat from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

disappeared and the new submarine class was deemed unnecessary. The project lay dormant for years until the mid-2000s when the need for a replacement for the became apparent. Originally the Scandinavian countries had intended to collaborate on the , but Denmark's withdrawal from submarine operations meant that Kockums proceeded on their own. In February 2014 the project was cancelled because of disagreements between Kockums's new German owners,

ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It resulted from the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg and E ...

, and the Swedish government. ThyssenKrupp refused to send a complete offer to any potential buyer and demanded that each buyer pay for the entire development rather than sharing the cost. The cancellation resulted in the Kockums equipment repossession incident on 8 April 2014. As per protocol, the Swedish government repossessed all equipment belonging to

Defence Materiel Administration (Sweden) The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (, FMV) is a Swedish government agency that reports to the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for the supply of materiel to the Swedish defence organisation. It is located in Stockholm. D ...

, as well as all secret blueprints and images, using an armed escort. By orders from a manager, Kockums staff tried to sabotage the repossession by locking the gates with the repossession crew and escort still inside. ''Maritime Today'' on 18 March 2015 reported that the project was restarted after the Swedish government placed a formal order for two A26 submarines for a maximum total cost of SEK 8.2 bn (approximately US$945 million as of 18 March 2015). According to the article, a Letter of Intent (LOI) had earlier been signed by Saab and FMV (The Swedish Defence Material Administration) in June 2014 regarding the Swedish Armed Forces’ underwater capability for the period 2015–2024. Saab has since acquired Kockums. The order in question for the two A26 submarines has been placed with what is now "Saab Kockums." These were to be delivered no later than 2022, a date subsequently pushed back, initially to 2024–25 and subsequently even further to 2027–28.

History

On 25 February 2010 Kockums AB signed a contract with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) concerning the overall design phase of the next-generation submarine. Kockums CEO, Ola Alfredsson, stated "This is an important first step, not only for Kockums, but for the Swedish Armed Forces as a whole. We shall now be able to maintain our position at the cutting edge of submarine technology, which is vital in the light of current threat scenarios." On 11 April 2010, the Swedish Defence minister

Sten Tolgfors Sten Sture Tolgfors (born 17 July 1966) is a Swedish former politician, public affairs executive and government official who is serving as Governor of Västra Götaland County since 1 September 2022, having been appointed to the position on 9 ...

announced plans to acquire two new submarines to be commissioned in 2018–19 replacing the two submarines of the . The plans also included a Mid-Life Upgrade program of two submarines of the ''Gotland'' class. Additional submarines could later be ordered to replace the ''Gotland'' class, however this will not be decided before 2020. On 16 June 2010, the Swedish Parliament authorised the government to procure two new submarines. Kockums states that construction of two A26 submarines will generate about 170 jobs. The first submarine was planned to be laid down by the end of 2012, but as of 2013, no submarines have yet been ordered. In September 2013 it was announced that the project had been delayed because of construction issues and the first submarine would not be ready before 2020.

Order cancelled and alternatives

On 27 February 2014, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) cancelled its plans to order the A26 submarine from Kockums. According to FMV the new Kockums owner, the German company Thyssen Krupp has refused to allow Sweden to share the cost with any other nation, making the submarine too expensive. Sweden has instead approached Saab. Saab plans to rehire many of Kockums submarine engineers if they receive orders for a new submarine. As a result, Saab recruited top people from Kockums and issued a press release that the company was seeking employees for its naval division. In a letter to the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, FMV, the head of the German ThyssenKrupp Marine Division, Dr. Hans Atzpodien begs FMV to stop Saab from recruiting key personnel from Kockums. On 2 April 2014 the Swedish government officially terminated all talks about a deal with ThyssenKrupp. On 14 April 2014 about 200 employees had left Thyssen Krupp for Saab and it was reported that Saab and Thyssen Krupp had started to negotiate about selling Kockums. In June 2014 Thyssen Krupp agreed to sell Kockums to Saab. On 22 July 2014, it was announced that Saab had bought Kockums from Thyssen Krupp for 340 million SEK. The new name will be Saab Kockums. During a visit to Kockums facilities on 30 June 2015 the Swedish defence minister, Peter Hultqvist, announced that two submarines will be ordered for a cost of 8.2 billion SEK (US$ ). The two submarines were to be delivered to the Swedish Navy in 2024 and 2025. However, in 2021 it was indicated that the delivery date had slipped by a further three years, to 2027–28, and the costs had risen by SEK5.2 billion (or USD600 million).

Design

The new submarine project was intended to be an improved version of the , which will be considered obsolete around 2015–2017 according to Per Skantz, development co-ordinator at the Marine headquarters in Stockholm. The submarine would displace 1,900 tonnes and have a crew complement of between 17 and 31 men. The 2008–2010 military budget memorandum to the Minister for Defence by the Supreme Commander Håkan Syrén would require the type to cost no more than the current ''Gotland'' class (about 1.5 billion SEK). The new submarine would have

blue water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

capability, something earlier Swedish submarines have lacked. It will be equipped with modified AIP stirling propulsion and GHOST (Genuine HOlistic STealth) technology, making the submarine extremely quiet. It will also be designed to withstand significant shock loads from underwater explosions and would be able to "Launch and recover vehicles" through its torpedo tubes. The submarine's sail would largely be composed of the same material that was used when constructing the s. There are three variants available: the Pelagic, Oceanic, and Oceanic (Extended Range). The entire ''Blekinge''-class submarine family has been offered for export equipped with 18 vertical launch cells for Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Boats

''Italics'' indicate estimates

Export

Australia

On 12 September 2014, Saab Kockums proposed a 4,000-ton variant of the submarines, known as the type 612, for the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

to replace their ageing ''Collins''-class submarine, however the DCNS entry based on the Shortfin Barracuda class was selected instead.

Norway

The

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...

had shown interest in the project, but ended up ordering the Type 212CD submarine from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

Netherlands

In December 2014 an agreement between Saab and Damen Shipyards was announced to jointly develop, offer and build next-generation submarines (based on the Type 612 design). Initially focused on replacing the four s currently in use by the Royal Netherlands Navy by 2025, combined with the still existing Swedish submarine requirements after cancellation of the previous A26 program.

Poland

A26 ''Blekinge'' submarines have been offered to

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

as a possible choice to replace the '' Orzeł'' in the "Orka" modernization programme, which was introduced in 2023.

References

External links

The A26 Submarine on Saab Kockums's official website

Saab and FMV develop underwater capabilities ahead of A26 submarine construction - Naval Technology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blekinge-class submarine Submarines of Sweden Proposed ships Submarine classes of the Swedish Navy