Swedish Parliamentary Approval Sought to Sell Poland Used Submarines

The Swedish government has sought parliamentary approval to conclude a deal with Poland to supply two second hand A17 Södermanland class Submarines from the Swedish Navy.

This was disclosed in Swedish government documents as part of the 2020 budget. Negotiations on financial and technical aspects will follow once the parliamentary approval is received

Reports of an impending deal have been on since mid-2019 when Polish Deputy Defence Minister Pawel Wozny visited Sweden, Polish defence website Defence24.pl had reported.

The acquisition of the second hand submarines will fill a gap until the Orka new generation submarine procurement programme is finalized by Poland.

The Swedish Navy possesses two of Södermanland-class diesel-electric attack submarines. These submarines are 60.5 meters long with a 6.1-meter-wide beam and can travel up to 20 knots when submerged. Their weapons systems are capable of firing torpedoes using six 533mm and three 400mm torpedo tubes.

Currently Poland operates a single Kilo-class submarine that dates back to the late 1980s, along with two Kobben submarines that are much older and need to be replaced.

Sweden’s Saab Kockum is also in the race to supply Poland with its A26-class subs under the Orka program expected to cost some 10 billion zloty ($2.6 billion).  Other bidders are France’s Naval Group with its Scorpene-class subs and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems bid its 212CD-class vessels.