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| Australia's current Collins class Submarine (File Photo) |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
A letter outlines why Sweden feels snubbed for not having been invited to bid for Canberra’s new submarine fleet.
Yesterday, Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish daily, published a letter by the head of the Swedish Defense Material Administration criticizing recent statements made by Australian politicians and policymakers that Sweden no longer had the technical expertise to build submarines.
The letter, sent at the beginning of this month to the head of the Australian Defense Material Organization (DMO), which, among other things, manages the acquisition of weapon systems for the Australian military, refutes in detail the justification that was publicly provided why Sweden was not invited to bid for Australia’s largest defense procurement program in its history.
Back in February, the Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, ridiculed the SAAB Group’s wish to bid for the contract and argued that, “The last Australian submarine came off the production line in about 2001 … the last Swedish submarine came off the production line in 1996, so it’s almost two decades since Sweden built a submarine.” He also accused Australia’s political opposition of wanting to build a “1960s submarine.”
However, the letter, written by Lena Erixon, the director general of the Swedish Defense Material Administration, notes that, “this is not the case” and emphasizes that Sweden,” maintained a full capacity to design and build submarines both for Sweden and for export over the last 20 years.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat