Australia to support Swedish submarine program
Australian engineers are taking part in the Swedish Navy’s new A26 submarine and Gotland Class mid-life upgrade projects.
A team of engineers from Saab Australia’s Adelaide-based headquarters will be deployed to Saab’s Malmo submarine design office in Sweden for the construction phase of Sweden’s next-generation submarine and Gotland-class mid-life upgrade.
“Our Australian engineers will be working with some of the best minds in the world, developing the world’s most silent conventional submarine,” said Dean Rosenfield, Managing Director of Saab Australia.
“The A26 submarine is the most modern, silent conventional submarine in the world. It’s exciting our engineers will be involved in its development”, said Mr Rosenfield.
With a displacement of around 2000 tonnes, long submerged endurance through the Stirling AIP system and a highly-flexible payload capacity, the A26 will be a formidable defence asset.
“The A26 will be ready for any challenge, any mission, anywhere in the world —fully capable in both littoral and open ocean environments” said Mr Rosenfield.
Incredible stealth, supreme intelligence gathering ability, mine searching and clearing capabilities with remote automated vehicles and a defence arsenal of heavy torpedoes are just a taste of the A26’s capabilities.
The Swedish Navy has ordered the first two next-generation A26 submarines to be built by Saab at its Karskrona shipyard. In parallel with the A26 build program, Saab will also upgrade the Swedish Navy’s Gotland Class submarines. By modernising the fleet mid-life with new capabilities, the Navy will maintain full underwater operational capability to ensure it meets today’s defence challenges.
Sweden’s Gotland Class and Australia’s Collins Class submarines are ‘cousins’ sharing the same design philosophies developed by Saab in the late 80s–early 90s. The first of each submarine class was also commissioned the same year – 1996.
Australia’s Collins submarine remains one of the world’s best conventional-powered submarines in the world. The new A26 sets the bar high for future underwater defence capability.