receives as many as 30 major spin-off components of the A-26 project, including the combat management system, sonar, weapon stations, masts, ESM suite, etc. The commander of the submarine flotilla told MilTech that it can be considered “an A-26 inside the A-19”. The SÖDERMANLAND is receiving a more limited update. It will be back to service in mid-2024 and remain in line for 5-6 years (2029-2030). Naval Infantry The Naval Infantry is also about to be fleshed out: with a third battalion in addition to the existing two, it will return to being a mechanized corps rather than the light infantry it is today. Small, well-armed combat boats materials are too expensive, especially if the new ships need to meet an urgent requirement. Both Saab-Kockums and the Swedish Navy seem aligned in assessing that a compromise can be found between absolute performance and the need to build quickly and respecting budgetary constraints. For instance, a possible solution to cut costs is building the hull of the new corvettes outside Sweden, while maintaining in-house knowhow in working on composite superstructures. This way, a base hull could be laid down virtually everywhere in the world in a classic way – steel, aluminium, etc. To make a concrete hypothesis, it would make sense building the new corvette’s hulls at Damen’s shipyards in the Netherlands, and this would add to Saab-Kockums/Damen strategic cooperation. Such an eventuality might also give some impetus to the Netherlands to choose the A-26 design for its submarines. Back to Sweden, Kockums wants to be in the position of conducting final assembly of surface vessels for corvettes up to 2,500-3,000t in its shipyard in Karlskrona. However, a formal proposal has not been submitted to the Navy. According to the Navy Chief, private talks are ongoing discretely. Secrecy is also due to the fact that anticipatory contacts between Saab and the Navy are not viewed so well in Parliament. However, the Navy Chief indicated that she needs more ships, ideally four by 2030, while she is ready to make concessions on the final configuration. More realistically, Saab estimates that two new corvettes can be commissioned by 2030. Several designs are being considered, but it is reasonable to suppose that the Navy will want a multi-purpose, stealthy corvette featuring stronger ASW and AAW capabilities than the VISBY-class. In addition, preliminary designs anticipate the possibility of deploying unmanned prosecutors (UUVs/AUVs, USVs, UAVs/RUAVs) through mission-tailored add-on modules on the deck and/or under the bridge. Submarines The Swedish navy also hopes to expand its submarines fleet with a third A-26 that will be likely ordered in November. The Navy Chief would like to have a fleet of five or six submarines by 2030 (three updated A-19 GOTLAND-class boats and two/three A-26 BLEKINGE-class), with plans for a further batch of three A-26s post-2030 and the aspiration to expand to eight the number of boats. Things have changed because of the current geopolitical situation. With this new naval planning effort in mind, Lars Tossman, Senior Vice President and Head of Saab Business Area Kockums, delivered a speech stating that “the internal demand is no longer an issue, as it will be consistent and will allow for continued production over the years.” At the time of writing, the company is working on four submarines at the same time: construction of two BLEKINGE-class, and modernisation of the single A-17 in service (SÖDERMANLAND) and one A-19 (the ULLAND). The latter has just been cut into two, and work has started on refurbishing it and installing a new module. The work will take two years from now, so it will be given back to the Swedish Navy in spring/summer 2024. Each A-19 Marco Giulio Barone is a political-military analyst based in Paris, and a regular contributor to Monch magazines. From the Bridge MT 5/2022 · 33 Virtual examples of corvettes and fast attack crafts proposed by Saab. A definitive design has not been chosen, yet. (Photo: Saab)
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