Swedish defense company Saab, in partnership with Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group, has submitted a proposal to provide the Royal Netherlands Navy with more advanced submarines compared to its current Walrus-class underwater vessels.
Saab offered to deliver four Expeditionary Submarine C718 units featuring weapon launching systems, sensor systems and other solutions that help prevent active sonars from detecting the vessels.
The submarine has a modular design, meaning new technologies can be integrated into the vessel in the future to ensure it can meet the Swedish navy’s evolving mission needs, Saab said. Employing the submarines would avoid vendor lock-in issues since the deal includes knowledge transfer, which enables the naval force to perform its own maintenance, repair and upgrades.
Mats Wicksell, senior vice president and head of Saab shipyard business Kockums, said Expeditionary Submarine C718 would contribute to enhancing the operational capability of the Dutch defense forces in the long term.
