Saab holds keel laying ceremony for Swedish Blekinge class submarine


According to a PR published by Saab on June 30, 2022, the keel-laying ceremony for the Blekinge-class submarine HMS Blekinge took place at Saab's shipyard in Karlskrona.
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Russian Vyborg Shipyard laid the Purga ice class coastguard ship of project 23550 925 001 Keel laying ceremony of the future submarine HMS Blekinge (Picture source: Saab)


The first hull sections are placed next to another to be joined, with representatives from the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, Blekinge County, and Saab.

The keel-laying ceremony is an old shipbuilding tradition, in which coins are placed under the keel of the ship to bring luck during the construction phase. When building a submarine the keel-laying ceremony takes place when the first hull sections are placed next to one another to be joined. A ceremonial coin will from this day follow the boat on the rest of her journey.

About Blekinge-class submarines

The Blekinge-class submarine is the next[clarification needed] generation of submarines developed by Kockums for the Swedish Navy, also known as the A26 type. 

The submarines will have a length of 63 m (216 ft), a beam of 6.75 m (22 ft), and a draught of 6 m (19 ft 8 in). They will have a displacement of 1,900 long tons.

The new submarine would have blue water capability, something earlier Swedish submarines have lacked. It will be 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.