Poland Buys Three Capable AIP-Powered Submarines From Saab

When delivered, the A26 should be among the most silent and capable AIP submarines in service (Saab illustration)

The government of Poland has signed a contract for three small, quiet and formidable A26-variant submarines from Swedish builder Saab. The deal is worth nearly $5 billion, and covers the costs for weapons, training and support in addition to the hulls. The ultra-long-lead contract will support deliveries up to 12 years in the future, and Saab has committed to setting up maintenance facilities in Poland when the time comes for repairs.

"It is a very large and long-term deal — it will make the Polish Navy one of the strongest in all of NATO. A strong Polish submarine force strengthens security in our shared Baltic Sea and across the alliance," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement.

Designer Kockums (now Thyssenkrupp) came up with the Blekinge-class / A26 submarine specifically for the Baltic, an operating environment Sweden shares with Poland. Sweden's government seized the plans and tooling in a contract dispute with Kockums in 2014; Kockums was then swiftly acquired by Saab.

The sub runs in "complete silence," according to Saab, powered when underwater by a Stirling engine fitted for air-independent propulsion. The previous Gotland-class sub generation is known to be extremely difficult to detect, and in exercises it has managed to get in position to "sink" other NATO subs and warships (notably the carrier USS Ronald Reagan in 2005). The A26 is an improvement upon that design, and is intended to outperform in the tight confines and shallow waters of the Baltic Sea - a worst-case scenario for Russian naval planners.

The timeline for the A26 is exceptionally long. In planning since the 1990s, the delivery date for the first Swedish units has been delayed repeatedly and is now expected in 2031. As a "gap-filler" for Poland, Sweden is providing the Polish Navy with the use of HMS Södermanland, a previous-generation submarine with an early version of the Stirling engine.