The development of the four new Surface combatants of the Luleå class for Sweden continues. Contracted by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (Försvarets materielverk, FMV), Saab proceeds to manage the basic design phase of the project, supported by Babcock. The contract with Babcock follows the Strategic Cooperation Agreement signed by both parties at DSEI in September 2023. Saab will develop a so-called basic design for the Luleå class, Babcock will support with engineering; among other things structural design and auxiliary systems. Saab’s expertise in combination with Babcock’s know-how will contribute to the new Surface Combatants capabilities. During a visit to Babcock’s Rosyth facility in Scotland, senior representatives from Saab, the Swedish Navy, UK Royal Navy, FMV and Babcock marked the beginning of the ambitious new collaboration in naval programme delivery, which follows the Strategic Cooperation Agreement signed by Saab and Babcock at DSEI in September 2023.
David Lockwood, Babcock CEO, said: “This is a hugely important programme for the Swedish Navy, Saab and Babcock. Our collective capabilities in Karlskrona and Rosyth will ensure we deliver a class-leading design for the new Lulea platforms”
“We are proud to take on the mission to start the basic design of the new Luleå-class for Sweden and happy to cooperate with Babcock in this project. This is an important collaboration between Swedish and British shipbuilders, and I am looking forward to a close teamwork to strengthen the Swedish capabilities at sea.”, said Mats Wicksell, SVP and Head of Business Area Kockums, Saab.
The Luleå class is a Swedish corvette class under development. In total four ships are planned to be built by Saab Kockums. The first two ships are to be commissioned by 2030 and two more by 2035. In June 2023 it was announced that the ships would receive names after Swedish coastal cities: HSwMS Luleå, HSwMS Norrköping, HSwMS Trelleborg, and HSwMS Halmstad. The new Luleå-class will complement the current Visby-class corvettes, first launched in 2000. Anti-Air Warfare will be one of the main capabilities of the new ships. The Luleå class will be the largest ships in service with the Swedish Navy once they are commissioned at over 100 metres (330 ft) long, with increased range and endurance being important factors. The ships will be primarily armed with surface-to-air missiles.
In January 2021 Saab Kockums was awarded a contract for the product definition phase of the Visby gen 2 corvettes by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV). These ships were intended to be an evolved version of the Visby-class corvettes currently in service with the Swedish Navy. However, a rapidly changing geopolitical situation in large part due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and Sweden’s subsequent application to join NATO led to the cancellation of the Visby gen 2 in favour of a clean sheet design, the Luleå class. As the Swedish Navy wants the Luleå class built and commissioned quickly it has been reported that the hulls will be built abroad while outfitting of the ships will be handled by Saab Kockums in Sweden. A similar arrangement was also used for the construction of HSwMS Artemis.
