Saab started with the mid-life maintenance of the Gotland-class submarines according to an unconfirmed news report. Several days ago Saab signed a contract with the Swedish government to not only modernize the Gotland class submarines but also to build the new submarines of the A-26 class.
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| HMS Gotland going into the shipyard |
The three submarines of the Gotland class (A-19) are the backbone of the Swedish submarines. Commissioned in 1996, these submarines operate with AIP. Their engines can use the surrounding sea water as a heat sink, therefore diminishing the need for cooling pumps, generally believed to be the loudest piece of equipment on board of a submarine. A high degree of automation on these submarines allow them to operate with a minimum crew. In retrospect, a diminished crew allowed to build better living spaces on board which in turn improves the overall endurance of the crew .
The Gotland class operates two types of weapons. The four 533mm torpedo tubes are used to fire anti-ship torpedo’s. These torpedo’s are wire guided and can be steered on their target from the submarine. The two smaller 400mm torpedo tubes are used to fire anti-submarine torpedo’s.
The modernization will include:
- Replacement of the Sterling Air Independent engine, sonar and management systems.
- The traditional optical periscope will be replaced with a new mast-based optic sensor provided by SAGEM.
- Upgrade of the Exelis' ES-3701 electronic warfare systems and Kongsberg's SA9510S sonar.
When the Gotland class submarine rejoins the fleet in 2018-2019 it will have a lifetime left of about 15 years, meaning that these submarines will stay in service until around 2035.
The submarines of the Gotland class are expected to rejoin the Swedish fleet between 2018 and 2019. This means that for the next three to four years the naval balance of power in the Baltic Sea will drastically be altered. The Gotland class submarine is so advanced that even the US Navy finds it difficult to detect this submarine. In the Baltic Sea, this submarine has an important impact in the naval balance of power as it is capable of closing Russian warships undetected .
The temporary loss of the Gotland class in the Swedish Navy means that Sweden just lost an important asset to deter the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. That task now falls completely on the older A-17 class submarines and the Visby class stealth corvettes.
Since Sweden isn’t a NATO member, in spite of slowly rethinking its choice of staying out of NATO, this means that there is no impact on the naval strength NATO has in the Baltic Sea .
Construction on the A-26 class hasn’t yet started but these new submarines are expected to be delivered to the Swedish Navy between 2022 and 2024.
