27 May 2022

Update: Swedish corvette HMS Gävle completes mid-life upgrade

by Kate Tringham

Gävle was delivered to the Royal Swedish Navy on 4 May following the completion of its refit. (Swedish Armed Forces)

The first of two remaining Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN) Gävle (ex-Göteborg)-class corvettes, HMS Gävle (K22), has been returned to service following the completion of its life-extension refit and upgrade, the Swedish Armed Forces has announced.

Gävle was formally handed over to the RSwN's Fourth Naval Warfare Flotilla at Berga Naval Base in Sweden on 4 May.

Modernisation work on Gävle and sister ship HMS Sundsvall (K24) is being carried out by Saab at its shipyard in Karlskrona under a contract worth SEK1.249 billion (USD124 million) awarded by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) in June 2017. Work on Sundsvall remains under way and the vessel is expected to complete its upgrade later in 2022.

The scope of work includes the integration of Saab's 9LV Mk 4 combat management system (CMS); a new Wärtsilä navigation suite and new propulsion controls; and upgraded air, surface, and underwater sensors, including Saab's Sea Giraffe AMB surveillance radar and Kongsberg's ST400 active variable depth sonar. The work also includes refurbishment of the hull and machinery.

The modernisation of the Gävle-class corvettes was one of several measures introduced in Sweden's Defence Policy 2016 to 2020 to help strengthen the navy's anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

The RSwN originally had a class of four Göteborg/Gävle‐class corvettes, which were built between 1990 and 1993. Two were removed from service in 2004 and 2006.

This article, first published on 10 May, has been updated with new information.

The first of two remaining Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN) Gävle (ex-Göteborg)-class corvettes, HMS Gävle ...

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