Sweden’s Saab and the Netherlands’ Damen Shipyards revealed details on Tuesday about their offering for the Netherlands Walrus Replacement Program (WRES).
The Royal Netherlands Navy currently has four Walrus-class expeditionary attack submarines that first came into service in the 1990s. In 2014 the government determined it needed to procure new replacement submarines to enter into service by the mid-2020s, but it has not publicly estimated costs or timelines for the vessels.
During a press event at the Euronaval international naval exhibition, Saab and Damen said their offering will combine capabilities of the Sweden A26, experience from the Saab Kockums-built Australian Collins-class submarines, and lessons learned form the Sweden Navy’s Gotland-class mid-life upgrade.
Saab and Damen first agreed to team for the Walrus replacement in January 2015.
Saab said this combination means their offering will have state of the art technology while “benefiting from de-risking on three submarine classes.”
Saab Kockums’s A26 is a next-generation submarine in development for the Swedish Navy. Sweden ordered two A26s to succeed its Gotland-class submarines in late 2014 and deliveries are planned from 2022 to 2024. In 2015 Sweden awarded Saab a $925 million award to construct and deliver the two vessels.
The A26 is over 203 feet long, uses the Stirling Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system that burns gasified industrial liquid oxygen and diesel, has a portal to launch up to eight divers, and stowage compartment to deploy unmanned underwater vehicles.
The vessel also can operate for up to 45 days and can dive to a depth of 656 feet.
Saab and Damen also claimed their bid for WRES contract is creating the most modern AIP submarines in the world. They noted if they are selected, the submarines will be done in consultation with the customer for a ‘design to cost’ approach.
The team plans for their vessel to have sections built in Sweden before being assembled at Vlissingen in the Netherlands.
Saab noted the team has secured the cooperation of various Dutch companies that would allow them to enhance Netherlands submarine competence.
“Swedish modular submarine design and production techniques coupled with the Dutch shipbuilding tradition bring together the capabilities needed to deliver an assured operational capability”, Gunnar Wieslander, senior vice president and head of Saab Kockums, added.
Saab and Damen said they are seeing a growing market for this type of new conventional submarines and see future opportunities for cooperation along this line.