CIMSEC – The Royal Swedish Academy of War Science is presently undertaking a study of strategic and operational requirements for the Swedish Armed Forces in the 2030 timeframe. Its naval section has recently published its findings in a book, Vår marin för ett tryggt Sverige och ett starkt Europa. Marin strategi 2030 (Our Navy for a Secure Sweden and a Strong Europe. Naval Strategy 2030). This article discusses some of its findings.

Forbes – Sweden’s next type of submarine, the A-26 Blekinge Class, promises to take stealth to another level. And not just by even quieter AIP. One of its secret ingredients will be uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs). 

– Naval News – First-in-class submarine “Gotland” has been delivered to the Swedish Navy following a series of platform upgrades including a new AIP system and a combat system similar to the one set to be fitted aboard the next generation A26 submarine.

– The Guardian – Sweden’s navy HQ is returning to a vast underground cold war fortress designed to withstand a nuclear attack, in what has been seen as a defensive move against a resurgent Russia.

– Guardian – Swedish MPs were not informed of alleged sighting of submarine by teenagers near Stockholm in June.

– War Zone – Gotland blazed a trail for modern air-independent propulsion equipped diesel-electric subs, wreaking havoc on U.S. carrier groups in drills.

– Defense News – Sweden, one of the only non-NATO aligned nations on the Baltic Sea, is developing a range of naval assets.

– National Interest – Back in 2009, the Swedish town of Karlskrona had a brilliant idea to boost tourist traffic: install Web cameras overlooking the picturesque Swedish coast. But there was just one problem with this marketing gimmick: as a local writer pointed out this summer, the Karlskrona cameras were live streaming the nearby naval base—Sweden’s largest and home to the country’s fleet of five advanced non-nuclear submarines.

– Air Force – While maintaining its neutrality, Sweden is growing its air force and pursuing greater interoperability with the US.

– Swedish Navy – Sweden confirms foreign submarine entered its waters – Sweden has confirmed that a small foreign submarine entered its waters in October, triggering the country’s biggest military operation in years.

– USNI News – The search for a mystery submersible says much about the state of the Swedish navy in particular, and European fleets in general. It should also prompt a new effort to address the need for high-end warfighting capabilities across European navies.

– BBC – Sweden spent the past week trying, unsuccessfully, to find a foreign submarine thought to be lurking in its waters. But on Friday, having scoured the coast, the Swedish military called off the search. So what’s going on in the Baltic?

– BBC – The Swedish military has called off its week-long search for a suspected submarine in the sea south of Stockholm, officials say.

– USNI News – The mystery submersible spotted in Swedish waters near Stockholm on Friday could be one of a handful of Soviet-era midget submarines operating from a mother ship in the Baltics and not likely a larger Russian Navy submarine.

– BBC – Naval vessels searching Swedish waters for a suspected foreign submarine are focusing on a bay near the capital Stockholm on the fifth day of the biggest such operation in years.

– BBC – The Swedish navy has stepped up its search in the waters off Stockholm amid suspicions that a Russian submarine might be in trouble there.

– AP – The Swedish military said Sunday it had made three credible sightings of foreign undersea activity in its waters during the past few days amid reports of a suspected Russian intrusion in the area.

– BBC – The Russian defence ministry has denied reports that one of its submarines got into trouble in the waters off Sweden.

– ITV – Sweden has boosted its military presence in the Stockholm archipelago to search for “foreign underwater activity” in the county’s largest mobilisation of troops and ships since the end of the Cold War. Is a Russian submarine in trouble in Swedish waters?

– Aviation Week – The U.S. military is relying on sub-hunting tech that’s decades old. Meanwhile, the targets they’re trying to find are getting quieter and more invisible by the day.

– Defense Technology International – The original stealth weapons, submarines may be second only to unmanned systems in the degree to which they have exploited new technology in the past two decades. Major advances have included air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, increasing submerged endurance and mobility; automation, reducing crew size (and consequently, life-cycle costs) and improving habitability; electro-optical masts that can sweep the horizon with high-definition in seconds and drop out of sight; and new torpedoes and other weapons. On the near horizon is the the mating of SSKs with unmanned air and underwater vehicles (UUV).

Associated Press – Saunas, massages help Swedish sailors hunt pirates

Pirate-hunting has come a long way since the Knights of Malta battled the Barbary Corsairs four centuries ago. Floggings, weevils and scurvy are out. Saunas, fresh bread and massages are in — at least aboard the Swedish warship Carlskrona, the flagship of the European Union’s force to hunt down Somali pirates, who have hijacked 23 ships this year.

Wired – Sweden Builds World’s First Stealth Ships

The country that gave us Volvos, Saabs and ABBA has developed what it claims is the world’s first fully operational stealth ship that is essentially invisible to radar.

Defense Technology International – Sweden is going ahead with a plan to replace its current signal intelligence (Sigint) vessel, the 1,400-ton HMS Orion (A 201) built in the 1980s, with the much larger, 3,600-ton HMS Carlskrona (M 04) that is to be converted from its current role as a training ship to a Sigint platform.
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Virginian Pilot – The US Navy has formally agreed to lease a Swedish submarine and its crew for a year so U.S. nuclear-powered subs, as well as other ships and planes, can practice hunting it.
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