They run on diesel, but can stay submerged for significantly longer than most other conventional models.and reduce the risk of detection.įurther down the line, Sweden's building even more advanced subs dubbed the A26. Gotland-class subs are among the most advanced non-nuclear subs in the West. Navy and most of Russia's fleet to operate effectively. 'There’s a lot of areas where we can hinder the opponent to move about on their own free will, so I would say with five submarines you could easily constrain the movements of your opponent.”Īdditionally, the Baltic has an average depth of only about a hundred feet, which is too shallow for the nuclear subs of the U.S. It can also be easily described with what we call “the five C’s ” confined, confused, contested, congested and cluttered. 'The Baltic Sea, as I said, is a multi-domain area. It's also where vital undersea infrastructure runs, including the incident in 2022 where one of the NordStream gas pipelines was destroyed.Ĭaptain Fredrik Linden is the commander of Sweden's First Submarine Flotilla, and this is his sub, HMS Gotland. The waterway is shared with Russia and it's a strategically important one, with access to ports in eight countries including Germany. The first issue: Sweden and the Baltic Sea. Reuters has been granted rare access to Sweden's sub fleet - which experts say could be a game changer for NATO.Īnd with neighboring Finland having joined in April, we'll take a look at how the expanded alliance may reshape Europe's security map.

This is one of the key reasons why: the country's world-leading submarine fleet, which has some traits that both Russia and the U.S. STORY: If Sweden joins NATO, it's going to help the military alliance address its vulnerabilities in northern Europe.

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