Summary: Sweden’s Saab recently completed significant mid-life upgrades on HMS Halland, the last Gotland-class submarine to receive enhancements, improving stealth, navigation, and combat systems.
-Over twenty critical systems, including sensors and command technologies, were upgraded, aligning closely with Sweden’s upcoming Blekinge-class submarines.
-The Gotland-class famously demonstrated its capabilities by simulating the sinking of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, leveraging its advanced air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology.
-The Blekinge-class will further expand Sweden’s underwater capabilities, featuring advanced AIP systems and a unique Multi-Mission Portal for deploying underwater vehicles.
-These upgrades underline Sweden’s strategic emphasis on Baltic Sea security amid rising tensions with Russia.
Meet the Gotland-Class
Saab, the defense firm behind some of Sweden’s most iconic fighter jet and submarine designs, recently completed a comprehensive mid-life upgrade to the HMS Halland, the third and last of the Gotland-class submarines slated for upgrades. It’s the last component of a deal secured in March 2022 and valued at SEK 1.1 billion, or about 116 million dollars.
Saab was cagey, at least in their statement about what precisely the upgrades to the HMS Halland were. “During the modification, more than twenty of the central systems in HMS Halland were replaced, including sensors and command systems,” the company said. It added that “these systems are the same as those that will be used in the Blekinge-class submarines (A26).”
They do say, however, that the mid-life upgrades result in an increase in performance, better stealth capabilities, and better ship control, communications, combat, and navigation abilities.
“Securing critical underwater infrastructure and sea lanes is more important than ever. The launch of HMS Halland is a testament to Saab’s ability to upgrade and deliver advanced submarines with the capabilities the Swedish Navy requires. With HMS Halland, the Swedish Navy, and by extension NATO, is given additional muscle to defend and monitor the Baltic Sea,” says Mats Wicksell, Head of Saab’s Business Area Kockums.
Given the number of high-profile and mysterious cable-cutting incidents in the Baltic, Sweden naturally has an interest in preserving and increasing their capabilities underwater. While at least one of the cable cuttings appears to have been an accident, others are very likely probes or war night shots in the strained Russia-NATO relationship.
Blekinge-class
The Swedish firm explains that some of the technology upgrades going into the Gotland-class are paving the way for the application of similar technology on the upcoming Blekinge-class submarines.
The firm touts its Multi-Mission Portal, a design feature unique to the upcoming Blekinge-class and that allows for the retrieval and launch of both unmanned as well as manned underwater vehicles, judging from company artwork, via the submarine’s front section.
The Blekinge-class, also known as A26, are provisionally represented by two hulls that Saab is building for the Royal Swedish Navy.
Powered by diesel-electrification propulsion, they’re also equipped with the Kockum Stirling Air-Independent Propulsion system.
AIP propulsion helps submarines like the Gotland-class and the Blekinge-class stay underwater for protracted periods of time without needing to surface for air to run diesel engines and charge onboard batteries. For an overview of the history and state-of-the-air of Air Independent Propulsion, the U.S. Naval Institute published relevant material.
Silent and Deadly: Gotland-Class Beat a Navy Aircraft Carrier
Sweden’s Saab has a reputation for excellence — and a reputation for being incredibly difficult to detect. Most remarkably, a Gotland-class submarine managed to simulate sinking the USS Ronald Reagan, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, during an exercise in the 2000s.
Leveraging its Air-Independent Propulsion system, the Swedish-manned submarine managed to pierce the layered defenses of a Carrier Strike Group — other submarines, surface ships, and anti-submarine assets in the air — to position itself for firing torpedos at the carrier.
The crazy thing about this situation was the cost factor: the Gotland-class submarine, at the time, cost around $100,000,000 to build (of course, the numbers vary depending on the source).
The Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier from the U.S. Navy, on the other hand, cost over $4,500,000,000 to build (however, numbers vary depending on sourcing and some have this higher).
In a realtime war, that would have been a staggering loss for America.
The U.S. Navy Asks for Help
The United States Navy was so impressed, or alternatively alarmed, that it ultimately asked the Royal Swedish Navy to lease the submarine and its crew in order to evaluate the small submarine’s capabilities and to improve anti-submarine warfare capabilities, which have seemingly atrophied since the end, of the Cold War and hostilities with the Soviet Union.
With the upcoming Blekinge-class submarines, the Royal Swedish Navy’s offensive capabilities are poised to increase rather significantly.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
