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 comp...