Poland has selected Sweden’s A26 design as its preferred option to replace its ageing Kilo-class submarine, choosing Saab and the Swedish state offer as the basis for negotiations, according to an announcement from Stockholm.
No contract has yet been signed and Saab has not received an order, but the decision marks a major step toward a Swedish-Polish submarine partnership.
Saab’s president and chief executive Micael Johansson said the company was “honoured to have been selected” and argued that the A26, purpose-built for Baltic Sea conditions, represents “the right choice for the Polish people”. He said the selection would strengthen the Polish Navy and support the national economy through planned industrial cooperation and technology transfer.
The Swedish government’s proposal centres on advanced variants of the A26 Blekinge class, equipped with modern sensors, long-duration air-independent propulsion and a multi-mission portal for special operations and uncrewed underwater vehicles. The platform carries heavyweight and lightweight torpedoes, mine-navigation sonars, Atlas Elektronik flank arrays and Safran Series 30 optronics. It can operate for up to 45 days, including extended submerged endurance using its Stirling-engine AIP system, and typically carries a crew of 17 to 26.
Sweden’s defence materiel agency (FMV) will now enter formal procurement discussions with its Polish counterpart. Negotiations will determine configuration, industrial work-share and timelines for the new boats, which are intended to restore and expand Poland’s submarine capability after years of decline in the fleet.
Thats got to be the weirdest looking conning tower I’ve ever seen on a sub.
Designed to defeat active sonar pulses.
I’m sure there will be many calls for us to jump on this program but it’s worth pointing out European NATO has nearly 70 of the worlds very best SSK’s and just 13 SSN’s (delivered or under construction)
SSK’s are great for the Baltic and Mediterranean but little use for us.
Disagree – 6 subs would be beneficial to the RN. We could use them in the North Sea / close in coastal work. Nukes boats aren’t good for every patrol
We cant even support or staff our current subs, were not getting 6 more
That maybe the case. But in straight military terms, 6 smaller conventional boats would be very useful to the RN.
What’s going on in the North Sea that require 6 SSK’s?
The North Sea is full of NATO SSK’s and not much else.
👍🏻
Given the two boats for Sweden aren’t due for completion till early 2030’s it will be interesting to see how this shapes up, I’ve seen some comments suggesting Sweden might loan one of their existing hulls in the late 2020’s for training and development?
In the Cold War we operated both, so if the money was at Cold War levels they have their uses. For example, I think they are more suitable for the SBS in the littoral than an SSN, which are ultra high value assets needed for their main task, hunting Opfor SSN.
Having SSK just for carting around SF when there’s allied subs that could do that in such a scenario seems a bit wasteful. There’s plenty of non nuclear boats in Europe already, bolstering the SSN fleet would be a higher priority IMO as that’s an asset only us and France can offer.
Just one role, not the only one.
Agree, SSN takes priority.
DM,
You have already made the point which I was going to ask Deep32 to address, if available. Ideally, 3.5% of GDP for Defence should permit additional growth, resiliency and specialization across the spectrum of RN missions, including the submarine service. SSKs require a mere fraction of the investment of manpower and the fiscal/physical commitments necessary for SSNs, and are ideally suited for littoral ops. Reasonably certain someone w/in AUKUS+ MIC will eventually propose development of Pillar I(a):SSKs. If the Germans, Japanese, South Koreans and Swedes become associate members of AUKUS, this coalition should be able to corner the market re SSKs. Given sufficient time, even bureaucrats should be able to discern the advantages of such a consortium.
Hi Ex, not seen you post in a while. Seems a sensible solution.
Hello mate,
Just seen a satellite picture on our weather forecast of North America – looks blinking cold.
I agree with you and Daniele et a la regarding SSK’s in the RN. We do have our own littoral to consider especially around coastal choke points that our shipping have to pass through, including our SSBN’s. Having a super quiet SSK on patrol or at least the possibility of an SSK hunting in and around these waters would change the calculus for anyone trying to interdict and track our deterrent boats or other high value assets as they transit to and from sea. I do not accept that autonomous vehicles or fixed networks will provide the kind of assurance that is being hoped optimistically predicted, at least not initially. Nothing is perfect and someone will come up with a counter. They always do.
Something like the A26 with the ability to insert SBS teams, deliver AV’s and equipped with both heavy weight and light torpedoes sounds like a very clever and flexible piece of kit. It could also be used as part of the Northern Bastion concept operating in the northern littoral, possibly using a convenient Norwegian fjord as a Forward Operating Base. So plenty of potential roles for such an asset freeing up our SSN’s to go after CRINK SSN and SSGN under the ice…
The very small crew would help as well.
Then there is the cost considerations, no nuclear certification for support infrastructure, wouldn’t take years to decommission with no nasty nuclear waste to store for goodness knows how long and you could turn them out way quicker than an SSN if the poop really hit the fan.
For a wartime scenario against the CRINK Axis the last point really swings it for me. Being able to churn lots of capable lean crewed SSK’s out like a sausage factory might be very advantageous indeed and we do have the ability to scale the design up if needed…
Cheers CR
CR,
Excellent exposition, as per usual. 👍 Firm belief that a flotilla of latest gen corvettes and SSKs could form the basis of a reconstituted Home Fleet. The UK, and indeed NATO, littorals (e.g., Med, Baltic, etc.) could be defended in a resource efficient manner (both in terms of CAPEX and manpower investment). This would facilitate a division of labor, wherein the principal assets of the RN (i e., CSGs, SSNs, etc.) are able to address threats in the widest envelope w/in the E-A and perhaps selective areas w/in the I-P. The relatively modest investment required to achieve this should warm the cockles of the hearts of HMG’s accountants at Treasury, even Ebeneezer Scrooge. Would prescribe the same plan for the USN. The CRINKs are coming for all of us. Sooner than politicians believe to be feasible. 🤔
Actually, not certain that investment in equipment/weapon systems should be referred to as CAPEX, as opposed to ( )?