DEFENSE NEWS

EXCLUSIVE: Swedish defence giant Saab Group has launched an audacious bid to build the Australian navy’s future submarine.

In a move that could mean thousands of jobs for South Australia and other states, industry sources have told News Corp Australia that Saab Group has presented a three-pronged strategy to secure the $20 billion plus Federal Government contract.

It includes a lower price than its competitors and a smooth flow of Japanese submarine technology from the Soryu Class boat, because Sweden is a partner in the Japanese project.

There will also be substantial technology transfer and industrial offsets for Australia, including jobs in Adelaide during the build phase, and a raft of new defence industries

Saab Group recently reclaimed former Swedish submarine builder Kockums from German giant Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and is moving fast to win the $20 billion plus Australian contract.

A spokesman for Defence Minister David Johnston confirmed that a Swedish bid had been received.

“We are aware that an unsolicited proposal was sent to Defence,” the spokesman said.

The company’s global chief executive officer Hakan Buskhe will publicly launch the plan in Fremantle next Tuesday (NOV11) during the Submarine Institute of Australia’s centenary conference.

Kockums was the design and build partner for the navy’s controversial Collins Class submarine and Saab Kockums wants to extend the relationship into the next generation of conventionally powered vessels.

The company builds the Gotland Class submarine — the first boat in the world equipped with air independent propulsion — that is widely regarded as one of the most stealthy submarines in the world.

During recent exercises with the US Navy off California HMS Gotland “sank” a nuclear powered submarine as well as the pride of the US Fleet the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. Her crew captured periscope images of the carrier to prove the “kill”.

According to well-placed sources heavy lobbying and fears about an electoral backlash in South Australia have pushed the government to back away from earlier plans to simply buy the Japanese Soryu Class boat straight “off the shelf”.

Both the Swedes and Germans are offering brand new vessels to meet the navy’s key requirements of size, range and stealth.

News Corp Australia also understands that the government is set to launch a project definition study before the end of 2014 for the nation’s biggest defence project that includes Japanese, Swedish, German and French options.

Treasurer Joe Hockey confirmed that an announcement was imminent.

“We need to decide quickly and whatever we do decide will be in the best interests of the entire nation,” Mr Hockey said.

It is understood that Mr Buskhe will meet with Senator Johnston next week to discuss the Saab bid.

Via Patrick H.

HELSINKI — Sweden’s government is examining a proposal to boost military spending to defend its own territories and the strategic Baltic Sea area in the face of renewed Russian aggression in Ukraine. There is also a movement among high government officials to re-examine the long-running issue of joining NATO.

The Swedish Cabinet will discuss, in coming weeks, a cross-party coalition proposal to signifi­cantly increase capital spending on the Navy’s submarine fleet.

In a direct response to Russia’s military actions in the Crimean Peninsula, Jan Björklund, the Liberal Peoples’ Party leader and Sweden’s deputy prime minister, is pushing for a “comprehensive strategic military re-think on capability.” Björklund also wants Sweden to “set the wheels in motion” to join NATO.

“What the crisis in the Ukraine shows is that we need to return to our original defense doctrine of having the capability to defend our borders,” Björklund said at a March 12 news conference. “The crisis highlights our vulnerability in the Baltic Sea. We need to strengthen our presence and capability here. NATO membership is the best long-term option.

“How many people thought that Russia would go into the Crimea? The same argument could hold true for the Baltic states. The crisis in the Ukraine should be met with action by Western powers to offer it fast-track membership to the European Union,” Björklund said.

Sweden’s defense capability has been seriously weakened by more than 10 years of low spending by governments on defense, Björklund said. The armed forces’ budget for 2014 amounts to $6.2 billion, equivalent to 1.05 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and down from 1.5 percent of GDP in 2006.

Russia’s expansionist actions in Ukraine pose a real threat for Sweden, and one that could be repeated in the Baltic states, said Peter Hultqvist, chairman of the Parliamentary Defense Committee (PDC).

“We need to build a stronger and better resourced defense. Having a robust air and naval presence in the Baltic Sea and a strengthened military base on Götland Island is fundamental to defending future threats,” Hultqvist said in an interview.

The Swedish Cabinet will examine in coming weeks a proposal by Foreign Minister Carl Bildt to expand the Navy’s submarine modernization program to cover the acquisition of five rather than two next-generation subs at an additional cost of $1.6 billion.

Via Patrick H.

Swedish firm CybAero recently sold a number of its APID 60 helicopter UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) to the Chinese coast guard, which plans to use the unmanned aerial vehicle aboard customs vessels to combat smuggling, reports the Washington-based Strategy Page on Apr. 18.

Designed as a 180-kilogram unmanned helicopter, the APID 60 is capable of carrying a 75-kilogram payload for up to six hours per sortie. It has a max speed of 150 kilometers per hour, and a max altitude of 3,000 meters. The APID 60 can also be operated up to 200 kilometers from the control station on a ship or land, and costs more than 75% less than a manned helicopter to operate, the report said, adding that it is just as effective for reconnaissance.

China has designed its own helicopter UAVs such as the Z-5, according to the report, but the quality and performance of these drones cannot match the APID 60. The Z-5 designed in 2011 is a 437-kilogram drone that can only carry a payload of up to 100-kilograms for three hours. In addition, the Z-5 can only be operated 100 kilometers away from a control station.

Unlike most helicopter UAVs, the APID 60 was built from an original design instead of taking an existing small-size helicopter and turning it into a drone. The APID 60 can be seen as an upgrade version of the APID 55, which was designed for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Strategy Page said.

The UAE continues to manufacture the APID 55 under license and exports it to other nations for coast patrol missions.

Via Patrick H.

Saab’s Skeldar VTOL UAV has returned from deployed operations with the Spanish Navy, although the company is hopeful that further contracts will come to fruition. 

One system consisting of two aircraft was deployed to the Gulf of Aden as part of the EU Atalanta operation on-board the BAM Meteoro offshore patrol vessel with the Spanish Navy, and the deployment finished in November with equipment back in Sweden by December.

The three month operation was cut short, as permitted under the terms of the contract, due to the navy having completed its mission ahead of schedule. The deployment followed integration trials on-board the BAM Relámpago in the waters outside the Canary Islands.

‘This was a limited three month contract, but we hope to get a new contract for that,’ Hans Burgland, director of marketing for UAS and future products, told Shephard during the Singapore Airshow. 

Burgland said that feedback from the operation was that the wrong sensor system was chosen, and the company and navy would reassess the payload choice for any potential future contracts. The sensor used during the operations was a Goodrich Tase 400. 

‘For the new contract we’d offer a different sensor,’ he noted. ‘We had some technological issues at the beginning so didn’t start at the planned time.

‘The performance was pretty good,’ he affirmed. ‘It was a very good experience for us to fly off the ship.’

He said that there are programmes coming up in the Asia-Pacific region that Saab is targeting: ‘We have been bidding in Malaysia for example, and that has just not been decided on yet.’

Burgland adhered to contract signings that are expected to happen ‘this month’ although he could not offer further details. 

Meanwhile progress is being made with pitching the Skeldar to a domestic customer Sweden: ‘We hope to see a tender coming out in April,’ he noted. 

Saab is looking to test the Skeldar off the Swedish Navy’s Visby-class corvettes, although budget issues in Sweden have prevented a contract signing so far.

‘We would like to see Skeldar with the Swedish Navy when they go to Somalia,’ he said.  

On 11 February it was announced that the Schiebel S-100 Camcopter was due to be used by the Italian Navy in anti-piracy missions, which Burgland said is a test programme that Saab also hopes to carry out with the Italian Navy. 

‘We know what’s going on there any we’re talking to Italy,’ he said.

Via Patrick H.