Swedish navy encountering Russian submarines ‘almost weekly’ – and more could be on the way | Sweden
The Swedish navy encounters Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea “almost once a week” and is preparing for a further escalation in the event of a truce or truce in the Ukraine war, its operations chief said.
Captain Marko Petkovic said Moscow was “constantly strengthening” its presence in the region and sightings of its ships were a normal part of life for the Swedish navy. He said that this is “very common” and added that the number of cases has increased in recent years.
The Baltic Sea region faces a growing range of threats, including suspected hybrid attacks by drones, allegations of sabotage of underwater infrastructure, and a steady stream of obsolete oil tankers in the form of shadow fleet ships carrying crude oil from Russia.
Last monthA Russian spy ship has entered British waters and shined lasers at military pilots, Britain’s defense secretary has warned, warning that Britain faces a “new era of threats” from hostile countries.
Swedish Lately This exercise, which hosted Playbook Merlin 25, a major NATO anti-submarine warfare exercise, took place with the participation of nine countries, including Sweden, Germany, France and the USA. In this exercise, hundreds of personnel honed their submarine hunting skills in the unique conditions of the Baltic to prepare for a possible underwater attack.
The rugged underwater landscape of the Baltic Sea near Sweden makes submarines difficult to detect because they can hide.
Petkovic said Russia was increasing its capabilities and producing one Kilo-class submarine a year in St Petersburg and the Kaliningrad region between Poland and Lithuania. He said his ships were undergoing a “deliberate and sustained modernization programme”.
“You can only evaluate after a ceasefire or ceasefire is achieved in Ukraine, and we evaluate that Russia will strengthen its capabilities in this region,” Petkovic said. “With this, [Swedish] “The Navy needs to constantly grow and focus on the bigger picture.”
He said Russia’s shadow fleet of civilian-flagged oil tankers was also concerning and did not rule out the potential for such ships to be used to launch drones.
“The shadow fleet itself is not a military problem, but the shadow fleet could affect our nations militarily,” Petkovic said.
He said the changing challenges of underwater conditions, such as lower visibility above water and salinity and temperature, meant underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea was particularly vulnerable. This was especially true in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania, he said, “wholly dependent on sea lanes for communications for the continuity of our societies.”
But he believes NATO’s increased attention is having an impact. “We have not seen any cable incidents in this region” since Operation Baltic Sentry was launched in January, he said.
He added: “First of all, it shows that the alliance works, it shows cohesion. And we are closing ranks against a particular threat. Baltic Watch proved that. Regardless of whether any of the incidents were state-sponsored, poor seamanship or something in between, it raised awareness in the merchant fleet that they need to be a little more careful when traveling in our regional waters.”
