A26 Submarine

A26 is the project name of the next generation of submarines developed by Kockums for the Swedish Navy. First planned at the beginning of the 1990s, the project was called "U-båt 2000" and was intended to be ready by the late 1990s or early 2000. With the end of the Cold War the naval threat from the Soviet Union disappeared and the new submarine class was deemed unnecessary. The project lay dormant for years until the mid-2000s when the need for a replacement for the Södermanland class became apparent. Originally the Scandinavian countries had intended to collaborate on the Viking class, but Denmark's withdrawal from submarine operations meant that Kockums proceeded on their own.

The new submarine project was intended to be an improved version of the Gotland class, which will be considered obsolete around 2015–17 according to Per Skantz, development co-ordinator at the Marine headquarters in Stockholm. The submarine would displace 1,900 tonnes and have a crew complement of between 17 and 31 men. The 2008–10 military budget memorandum to the Minister for Defence by the Supreme Commander Håkan Syrén would require the type to cost no more than the current Gotland class (about 1.5 billion SEK). The new submarine would have blue water capability, something earlier Swedish submarines have lacked. It would have been equipped with modified AIP stirling propulsion and GHOST (Genuine HOlistic STealth) technology, making the submarine extremely quiet. It will also be designed to withstand significant shock loads from underwater explosions and would be able to "Launch and recover vehicles" through its torpedo tubes. The submarine's sail would largely be composed of the same material that was used when constructing the Visby-class corvettes.

In February 2014 the project was cancelled because of disagreements between Kockums's new German owners, ThyssenKrupp, and the Swedish government. ThyssenKrupp refused to send a complete offer to any potential buyer, and demanded that each one buyer pay for the entire development rather than sharing the cost. The cancellation resulted in the Kockums equipment repossession incident on 8 April 2014. As per protocol, The Swedish government repossessed all equipment belonging to Defence Materiel Administration (Sweden), as well as all secret blueprints and images, using an armed escort. By orders from a manager, Kockums staff tried to sabotage the repossession by locking the gates with the repossession crew and escort still inside.

Maritime Today on 18 March 2015 reported that the project was restarted after the Swedish government placed a formal order for two A26 submarines for a maximum total cost of SEK 8.2 bn (approximately US$945 Million as of 18 March 2015). According to the article, a Letter of Intent (LOI) had earlier been signed by Saab and FMV (The Swedish Defence Material Administration) in June 2014 regarding the Swedish Armed Forces’ underwater capability for the period 2015-2024. Saab has since acquired Kockums. The order in question for the two A26 submarines has been placed with what is now "SAAB Kockums."  These are to be delivered no later than 2022.