Sweden's second upgraded Gotland submarine returns to the water

The second Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN) A19 Gotland-class submarine to undergo a mid-life upgrade (MLU) has been relaunched by Saab’s Kockums business.

Sweden’s second upgraded Gotland submarine, HMS Uppland , was relaunched at Saab Kockum’s Karlskrona facility on 19 June. (Saab)

HMS Uppland was lowered from the shiplift at the company’s Karlskrona facility on 19 June. The milestone occurred 12 months after the relaunch of sister boat HMS Gotland .

Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) awarded Saab Kockums a SEK 2.1 billion (USD220.5 million) contract in June 2015 for the upgrade of two of the RSwN’s three Gotland-class submarines. Combining a major platform overhaul with a substantial modernisation package, the MLU Gotland programme will allow Gotland and Uppland to remain in service until at least 2030.

The MLU has been designed to address obsolescence issues, ensure compliance to updated safety and information security requirements, improve signature performance, upgrade the combat management system (CMS), replace the ship management system, introduce a new navigation suite, modernise the sensor package (including an upgraded sonar suite and a new Safran optronic mast), upgrade the Stirling air independent propulsion (AIP) plant, and add a diver lock-out chamber. Work has included cutting the pressure hull in two to enable the insertion of a 2 m hull section accommodating sea water cooling, freshwater cooling, and water chiller plants.

More than 20 of the new systems introduced under the MLU Gotland programme are common to those selected for the RSwN’s two next-generation A26 submarines, Blekinge and Skåne . Under construction at Karlskrona, Blekinge and Skåne are due to enter service with the RSwN in 2024 and 2025 respectively.