Sweden extends the life of the last A17 submarine
September 22, 2022
past Richard Scott
The life extension of HSwMS Södermanland will extend the life of the boat until 2028–29. (Kokum’s)
The Defense Materiel Agency (FMV) has contracted Saab’s Kockums operations to further extend the life of the Royal Navy’s (RSwN’s) last remaining A17 submarine HSwMS
Södermanland
.
FMV and Saab announced the order on 14 September that the life extension work – to run concurrently with a routine refit at Karlskrona – would extend the boat’s operational life to 2028–29. The move will ensure the RSwN can maintain a four-boat submarine flotilla pending the arrival of the new A26 submarines HSwMS
Blekinge
and HSwMS
Skåne
from 2027 onwards.
The rebuilding is the second life of
Södermanland
, which was originally commissioned in 1989 as the third of four Västergötland-class submarines. The work will include the execution of approximately 50 additions and changes.
FMV’s maintenance contract includes an exchange of batteries for RSwN’s submarine fleet, as well as a project focusing on battery development. The total value of the total package is 470 million SEK (42.7 million USD), according to Saab.
Södermanland
had originally been scheduled to reach the end of its operational life in 2022. However, delays to the A26 program, which fell three years behind its original schedule, have resulted in the decision to further extend the boat’s life.
Earlier this year, FMV awarded Saab Kockums a SEK 1.1 billion ($100 million) contract for the mid-life (MLU) upgrade of the A19 Gotland-class submarine HSwMS
Halland
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The Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) has contracted Saab’s Kockums operations to further extend…