Saab Kockums' Maiden Voyage (Part.2)
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Saab Tockums4 maiden 0oyage (.art.2) ducon site in Tarlskrona (next to Swe- defence technology developments. den’s main navy base), and also a for- Lef0 n is presently (September 80) mer navy dockyard at Muske for forming a government with the Green maintenance and repair. .arty (with 86._ % of the votes togeth- Saab’s broad naval presence er L leaving the Lek .arty out). 3n By April, 2014, Thyssen Krupp Marine .rior to acquiring Tockums, Saab also September 2_, the party leaders of this Systems (TKMS, the then German own- had several other facilies in the Saab two-party coalion declared that the er of Kockums) and Saab had signed a Group involved in naval defence sys- Green .arty accepts the Gripen and Memorandum of Understanding tems: torpedo development in Linke- submarine development, but that the stang that Saab would acquire ping, missiles in Linkeping, C8I systems Swedish defence export regulaons Tockums. Saab had courted TMS in Jfrfflla and radar in Gothenburg. would become more restric0e to- since the autumn of 2018 regarding an Saab’s CE3 Hgkan Buskhe stated that wards anon-democracb naons (as acquision of Tockums. During the athe acquision is in line with our the Green .arty had been suggesng for many years). spring of 2014, TMS4 grip over strategy to expand our o+ering and Tockums gradually weakened as the strengthen Saab’s posion in the mar- 3n September 2_, -MV announced Swedish state and -MV (the defence ket for naval systems. h he acquisi- two orders to Saab Tockums. -irstly, procurement agency) distanced them- on makes us a complete supplier of an order of ten underwater R3Vs selves from TMS, and supported a naval military systemsb. By Aug 20, (Remotely 3perated Vehicle). hese takeover of Tockums by Saab. So what Saab Tockums stated that they are R3Vs are to be integrated aboard pa- has happened since early JuneC planning to hire up to 200 engineers in trol boats and auxiliary ships in he Malme. Swedish Navy. Secondly, an order of Closing the Saab acquisition SET 180 million for an overhaul of the 3n June _, -MV and Saab signed a TMS by now apparently experienced submarine HMS Halland (Gotland Le>er of Intent regarding the Swedish a diminishing fondness of military ship class) during 2014-15. ogether with underwater capability for 2015-2024. and submarine development. Accord- the July torpedo order, these three 3n June 26, Saab declared that they ing to the German newspaper Han- orders were referred to by -MV as were sll in ongoing talks with TMS delsbla>, by September 12 TMS was being part of the 2015-2024 Le>er of regarding an acquision of Tockums: in negoaons for a sale of HDi (i.e. Intent. he development of the Next a he discussions are at a 2nal stage what remained of TMS4 military ship- Generaon Submarine is also well but sll ongoing.b and submarine facilies) to the Ger- under way in the present polical and 3n June 2_, Saab declared that they man defence company Rheinmetall. Rheinmetall in its turn was pondering procurement context. had reached an agreement with TMS for acquiring Tockums at a price of SET divesng its unit for car components Implications 840 million (c 85 million). TMS inial to hyssen Trupp. Handelsbla> in this Saab Tockums is clearly experiencing price a few months earlier had been arcle also stated that Rheinmetall fair wind in the 2rst months of its SET 1,8 billion. As Saab had succeeded was interested in acquiring 3ptronica maiden voyage. During several years in a>racng skilled submarine devel- and Atlas Elektronik from EADS, com- prior to 2014, Tockums operaons and opment personnel from Tockums dur- panies highly acve in defence tech- product development were character- nology. ized by a procurement and ownership ing the spring, including TMS AB4s chief submarine designer, and as -MV Stabilizing Saab Kockum’s future roadblock on a grand scale. Saab’s had aborted praccally all orders to operations torpedo development had also for Tockums L TMS increasingly pos- Sweden had its naonal elecon on years experienced a defence procure- sessed an industrial facility with very September 14. he elecon outcome ment standsll. A perhaps worrying limited business future. meant that the sijng prime minister cloud towards the horizon, however, is the export market. .resent export -MV announced on July 2 that it had -redrik Reinfeldt and his rightwing, four-party coalion L d he Alliance4 L orders are modest, and technology placed an order with Saab Naval Sys- development in the naval area solely tems for ddesign plans4 for a New Light- would be replaced by some sort of coalion lead by the Social Democrac for the Swedish demand would be weight orpedo (NL ). (Note, Tockums costly for Sweden. .erhaps Tockums not yet acquired). However, by July 22, .arty leader Stefan Lef0 n. However, Lef0 n and his closest collaborators will be pulled along on the export mar- Saab announces that it completes the ket by the highly export successful acquision of Tockums from TMS, the Lek .arty and the Green .arty together only had 48.6 % of the votes. Saab Group. In aggregate howe0er, for and Tockums is incorporated into the Swedish Navy4s submarine force, Saab. Saab had by then reached ap- he Social Democrats have in recent years expressed clearly defence- Saab Tockums4 submarine develop- proval from all concerned authories ment and Saab’s na0al business units, in Sweden and Germany. Saab friendly declaraons and have been posive (together with the Alliance) massive uncertaines have turned into Kockums (the new name) became a a promising future rising on the hori- business unit within Saab’s business towards costly development of an El- zon. area Security and Defence Soluons. generaon of Gripen and of develop- M L · he new business unit Saab Tockums ment of a new submarine. he Lek Deputy Research Director, -3I has its design oDce in Malme, its pro- and the Green party, however, have clearly been scepc to such ambious marn.lundmarkmfoi.se 11 .