Two of the Swedish Navy’s Gotland-class boats will be upgraded as well as the introduction of the new A26 platform (Jo A. Wilbourn Sims)
Elsewhere, the Royal Norwegian Navy is in the final stages of conducting a test fire of Diehl Defence and TKMS’s Interactive Defence and Attack System for Submarines (IDASS). The munition will be launched from a Type 210 Ula-class boat and comes on the back of simliar evaluation launches with the German Navy between 2008 and 2011. The German government is expected to decide whether to equip its force with the munition this year. That this weapon system will provide a self-defence capability against rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft operating in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) roles particularly, with a maximum range of some 25km, according to Diehl Defence. IDASS will be of particular interest to state actors operating submarines in littoral environments where they are most vulnerable. In France, shipbuilding giant DCNS recently unveiled its SMX-Ocean diesel-electric attack submarine at the Euronaval exhibition in Paris last year. Measuring 100m in length, the SMX-Ocean will have an top speed of 20kts underwater and will benefit from cross decking of technology from the company’s SSN Barracuda boat. EDR - March / April 2015
With displacement up to 3000 tons, the SMX-Ocean will be one of the larger attack submarines available in the market, with the additional payload capability to carry an additional array of weapons, comprising cruise missiles, anti-aircraft munitions, vertical launchers, anti-ship munitions and torpedoes. According to DCNS officials, the company is now considering potential growth in the larger end of the submarine market, in relation to diesel-electric boats, in order to satisfy requirements for increased weapons payload and sensor carriage. The company is also targeting the Australian market which is considering replacing its six Collins-class boats with up to a dozen attack submarines as part of its SEA1000 effort. However, there are very few options offering up a boat with a water displacement of 3000tons and substantial range requirements to operate for up to three weeks underwater. This compares to an average period of two weeks submerged for an attack submarine. Furthermore, DCNS is looking at introducing elements of unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) technology into its series of submarines
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