Sweden’s Saab is looking at modernization opportunities with Australia getting submarines from the US and the UK
Sweden’s Aerospace company, Saab, is looking at opportunities for modernization and maintenance after Australia decided to go nuclear weapons under the defense pact with the United States and the United Kingdom. While Canberra would get the nuclear power boats under the recently announced pact, AUKUS, the country’s current stock of conventional submarines developed in Sweden must be further extended. According to the Sputnik report, the AUKUS pact between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia paves the way for new export opportunities for Saab.
With the new defense strategy pact, Australia removed France as a supplier of new submarines. According to Saab, this is considered a new opportunity to modernize Australia’s current submarine fleet, as Canberra will have to wait for the first round of nuclear boats between the US and the UK to be delivered and may take more than 10 years.
According to Saab, Australia’s decision to buy nuclear submarines from the US and the UK will mean that the life of its current fleet will have to be extended compared to previous plans. The current fleet in Australia was developed in Sweden during the Cold War, which gave the Nordic country extra opportunities. Saab has also estimated that it will take a very long time before Canberra receives the first batch, which creates a gap for the Swedish company.
“The submarines in the Collins class are basically a Swedish design, developed by Sweden and Kockums. They developed at about the same time as the Gotland class, which is still active in Sweden, says Saab Kockum’s marketing and strategy manager Lars Brannstorm to the national TV channel SVT.
“It is unlikely that anyone will be able to deliver nuclear submarines before 2040. The lifespan of Collins’ submarines must therefore be extended,” he added.
Brannstorm estimates a cost of $ 4.6 billion
In addition, Brannstorm has also estimated that the contract to modernize Australia’s six current submarines will cost up to $ 4.6 billion or SEK 40 billion. Brannstorm said: “With the experience we have of having done the upgrades on Gotland’s and Uppland’s submarines in Sweden, which are about the same generation as Collins ‘submarines, we are well positioned to support a lifetime program for Collins’ submarines,” adds that Saab mainly will take care of design with production and development taking place in Australia.