Poland signed contract with Swedish Saab for three A26-class submarines valued at 47 billion crowns, or €4.23 billion, or $4.8 billion. At the same time, they will not be available for hunting russian ships in Baltic Sea anytime soon.
According to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's statement, first hull delivery will occur only in 2031, meaning in 5 years. While Saab notes last will arrive only in 2038.
Read more: South Korea's Taurus-Like Cruise Missile Cheonryong, Designed To Eliminate North Korean Leadership In Fortified Underground Bunkers, Has Successfully Completed New Phase Of Testing
To close gap, Swedes will transfer one submarine to Poland on lease serving as interim solution while contract is fulfilled. It is stated crew training will begin already in August 2026.
Sweden also invests €100 million in Polish industry for deploying submarine repair and maintenance localization. Also hundreds of Polish companies will be involved as suppliers. Overall 7,000 job creation in Poland is expected.
Defense Express notes that is good example of expensive defense projects where partial work localization is important requirement. Actually Swedes themselves did same before. Good example, FDI frigates Sweden purchased after French ordering Saab GlobalEye AWACS aircraft.
Recall Poland under Orka program chose A26-type submarines in November 2025, where Swedish proposal beat South Korean Hawnha with Dosan Ahn Changho and German TKMS with Type 212CD. Possibly winner was helped by promise to support Polish industry including purchasing new rescue vessel.
Regarding delivery rates, nothing surprising here actually, as currently no A26-type submarine has been built despite years of development. Currently Saab works on first two hulls for Sweden, to be transferred to fleet in 2031 and 2033.
Interestingly, initially Poland delivery start was planned in 2030, but now 2031 is indicated. This could be caused by timeline clarification as well as potential delays connected with 1,000km cruise missile integration. Latter is also supported by substantial project cost increase from initial $2.7 billion estimates to $4.8 billion now.
Read more: Ukraine's Barracuda Drones Now Deliver FPV Kill Chains to russian Positions Along the Dnipro (Video)
