Poland has chosen Sweden as its strategic partner in its quest to acquire 3 new “ORKA” submarines to replace its solitary remaining KILO-class SSK.

Sweden’s entry is the Saab A26 submarine, a boat “designed for the Baltic sea”, created initially for Sweden’s own needs.

The A26 uses an air-independent propulsion (AIP) solution that combined diesel engines and a Stirling-type engine that burns liquid oxygen as well as diesel, in order not to need to be on the surface or take in air via snorkel. The A26 can reportedly stay submerged for more than 18 days before needing to surface.

A unique feature of the A26 design is its Multi-Mission Portal, basically an oversized “torpedo tube” in the bow that provides access to a flexible payload lock. Divers and Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles can be delivered through this portal and the submarine can lie on the seabed thanks to a strong hull and the X configuration of its control planes.

The A26 is natively equipped with 4 “NATO standard” 533 mm torpedo tubes capable of firing heavyweight torpedoes, and 2 smaller 400 mm tubes for lightweight torpedoes.

With a surfaced displacement of 2,122 tons, it is circa 66 meters long with a beam of 6.75 meters, and a draught of 6 meters. Saab has in the past offered the addition of hull modules containing vertical launch tubes for cruise missiles. The submarine has a standard complement of just 26 sailors but can also accommodate up to 35 more personnel, including for special forces missions.

The A26 beat competing proposals from France’s Naval Group, Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Italy’s Fincantieri, South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, and Spain’s Navantia.

Reportedly, Saab’s offer, backed by Sweden, promises rapid delivery, good levels of industrial cooperation and a gap-filler capability which will enable Polish crews to start training already next year ahead of receiving an interim capability through the handover of a second-hand A19 (GOTLAND-class) submarine in 2027.

According to Polish sources, the 3 new-build submarines are supposed to be delivered by 2030, although how exactly this will be achieved remains to be seen, especially considering that the only 2 A26 boats that are actually already in build, destined to Sweden’s own Navy, have recently been delayed to 2031 and 2033 respectively. These boats, known in Sweden as the BLEKINGE class, are under construction at Saab’s Kockums shipyard in Karlskrona and have suffered extensive delays and cost growth, considering that they had once been planned for delivery in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Their pricetag is currently estimated at 2.3 billion Euro.

Waiting to see the actual dates, pricetag and details of a Polish 3-boat plan, it must be noted that if Sweden really plans to hand one of its 3 A19 GOTLAND-class boats over in 2027 it is effectively accepting a further, very substantial hit in its own fleet plans.

When the 2 BLEKINGE boats were ordered, all the way back in 2015, they were due to replace 2 SODERMANLAND-class submarines from the 1980s in 2018 and 2019 respectively. As we said earlier, not only this has not happened but delivery of the 2 A26 is at present planned to only happen into the early 2030s.

In the meanwhile, one of the 2 SODERMANLAND boats is already gone (HMS Östergötland was mothballed in 2021) and the other (HMS Södermanland) has a 2028 Out of Service Date. The 3 GOTLAND were supposed to run on alongside the 2 BLEKINGEs. If one GOTLAND is handed to Poland and the last SODERMANLAND bows out in 2028, Sweden will be short not of 1 but 2 hulls.

The Saab offer also “includes state-of-the-art technology provided by the United Kingdom”, as noted in the press release by Sweden’s government. This is understood to involve Babcock (which was also teamed with Hanwha) if not also other UK firms. It has been reported that the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has added his backing for the Swedish offer.

Sweden’s press release notes that “together, Poland and Sweden – with support from the United Kingdom – make up a strong and decisive force in the Baltic Sea region”.

The ORKA project is to deliver a whole new level of capability for the Polish navy considering that the single Project 877E KILO-class submarine, the ORP ORZEL, is of dubious residual operational value.

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