The swedish navy will have to wait a few more years to incorporate into its fleet the world’s first two fifth-generation submarines. The Swedish defense manufacturer saab recently announced a new delayand consequent extra cost, of the A26 that will not arrive until the years 2031 and 2033 and with a cumulative cost of 2.3 billion eurosafter the last agreement negotiated between the company and the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV).
The A26, also known as Blekinge classis the next generation of conventional submarines the Swedish Navy is developing Saab Kockums as a replacement for the veteran ships of the classes Sodermanland and Gotland. On paper, they should become the centerpiece of Sweden’s submarine capability for several decades and in a key asset for NATO in the Baltica shallow sea full of cables, gas pipelines and strategic routes.
A practically invisible fifth generation submarine
It belongs to the type attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine in military jargon, designed primarily to attack and sink other submarines and ships, although it is actually multipurpose. Move 2,100 tons submerged and has a length of 66.1 meters, sleeve 6.75 my draft 6 meters.
That Saab defines it as a fifth-generation submarine is both a commercial label and a technological leap. The company groups several capabilities under this concept: highly reinforced stealth, integration from the design into multi-domain operations, intensive use of sensors and information systems, and the possibility of deploying drones and special forces directly from the hull to operate on the seabed.
In terms of stealth, the A26 is based on the long Swedish experience in submarines. air independent propulsion. This is a system that allows a submarine to continue generating energy while submerged, without having to surface to take a breath.
Instead of relying only on diesel engineswhich need oxygen and force the submarine to ascend from time to time in order to charge the batteries of the electric motor that drives the propeller, use an additional system which also generates power for those batteries and runs on liquid oxygen and fuel stored on board. Thanks to this, it can remain underwater for many more days without being detected, moving at low speed and silently.
The boat combines a optimized hull geometry, coatings intended to absorb part of the energy from the sonars and a electronic degaussing system which reduces its magnetic and electrical signature. Added to this is the patented air-independent propulsion system. Stirling (AIP).
The result, according to Saab, is a submarine capable of moving practically invisible both in coastal waters and in the open sea and to get close enough to listen to communications, locate radars or follow the movement of ships without giving away their presence. That classic role of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) It is one of the central functions of the design, which seeks to feed data to the rest of the allied forces within the framework of multi-domain operations.
War on the seabed
The A26 also distances itself from previous generations in what Saab calls ‘war on the seabed’. The submarine incorporates modular mission bays from which it can launch unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) and special operations teams. This allows it to interact directly with the seabed to inspect or protect communication cables, monitor strategic straits, place long-term sensors or simply perch on the bottom to hide and wait for the right moment to act.
As for armament, the A26 is designed to employ heavy long range torpedoes and with the possibility of integrating cruise missiles in the future. With this, Sweden aspires to have not only an excellent ship and submarine hunterbut also with a precision attack capability against land targets, something that more and more navies demand from their underwater platforms.
Information and electronic warfare
The other major axis of the project is information. The boat incorporates a electronic warfare suite designed to passively intercept, classify and geolocate enemy emissions. That information can be integrated into broader allied networks, making the A26 a a hidden node within the command and control architecture. Saab even talks about ‘underwater information warfare’ consistent not only listening, but also contributing to protecting or, if necessary, attacking critical infrastructures.
To manage all this data flow, the submarine uses decision support systems based on artificial intelligence that help merge information from the different sensors and present the commander with the clearest possible picture of the situation. The objective is shorten decision cycles and better coordinate joint missions with air, naval and surface forces.
The problem is that all this is going to arrive much later than expected. Between changing requirements, industrial difficulties and contract renegotiationsthe program has been chaining delays and cost overruns until delivering deliveries, initially planned for 2018 and 2019, at the beginning of the next decade. By then more than fifteen years will have passed since the contract was signed and the strategic context will have continued to evolve.
Still, if it delivers as promised, the A26 will remain one of the most advanced conventional submarines in the world and Europe’s main qualitative leap in submarine warfare. A submarine designed to move silently, launch drones and commands while hidden and act as an invisible NATO sensor in one of the most sensitive seas on the planet.