Nordic neighbours pursue divergent submarine tracks

摘要

The Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) this year celebrates the centenary of the establishment of its submarine arm and the commissioning of its first submarine, the German-built Kobben (later renamed A-1), in November 1909.rnIn those pioneering days, its nearest neighbour, the Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN), was already comparatively experienced in subsurface operations, having commissioned the indigenously built Holland-type boat, Hajen, in 1904.rnToday, while the RNoN has one eye on the past, the other is focused on advancing plans for the progressive recapitalisation of its six-strong submarine force over the next 15-20 years. The RSwN, meanwhile, is modernising its five boats and is working to develop a successor platform under the Next Generation Submarine (Nasta Generation Ubat/ NGU) programme, with a requirement for two boats to enter service in 2017-18.