The Swedish government has approved the design phase for the Royal Swedish Navy's A26 submarine program. Negotiations are ongoing between the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration and the government to complete a design contract by the end of the year.rnThe program began in 2007 with initial feasibility studies for the acquisition of four new-construction submarines that will be built at the Kockums AB Malmoe Shipyard. The submarines will replace the remaining Gotland and Soedermanland classes that were commissioned in the late 1980s through the mid-1990s.rnA construction contract that initially was scheduled for this year likely will slip to 2013 since the design phase is just beginning. Assuming a construction contract in 2013, the first unit likely would enter service around 2018 and replace HMS Soedermanland.
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