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Swedes To Say Farewell to San Diego
By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS
The two-year Swedish naval presence in the Pacific Ocean is about to end.
U.S. Navy officials confirmed May 24 that the Swedish submarine Götland will soon return home after providing the Pacific Fleet the chance to practice the craft of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) with some of the world’s best submariners.
“I think every strike group on the West Coast had a chance to interact with Götland,†said Cmdr. Dan Bacon of the 3rd Fleet in San Diego. “Normally strike groups are lucky to get one or two exercises with a foreign diesel submarine when they’re on deployment. This allowed us to have every West Coast deployer see what it’s like to work with a diesel submarine.â€
The Swedish government agreed in October 2004 to send the submarine halfway around the world from its base in the Baltic Sea. The U.S. Navy — which funded the entire effort — requested the sub as part of an effort to improve the level of ASW training against quiet, battery-powered undersea craft. The Swedes fit the bill perfectly. The 1,600-ton Götland, completed in 1996, carries advanced sensors and, in addition to diesel engines and electric motors, is fitted with a Stirling air-independent-propulsion system, allowing the craft to remain underwater far longer than a battery boat.
Götland arrived in San Diego in late June 2005 aboard a heavy-lift ship and first put to sea two weeks later. The contract with the U.S. Navy stipulated the ship would provide up to 120 days of underway training a year, and according to Bacon, “they did at least 250 underway days [over the two years] supporting training, ASW, research. Everything we asked of them, they exceeded our expectations.â€
A second one-year agreement to operate the Götland in San Diego was agreed to early in 2006. U.S. and Swedish officials decided in February 2007 to end the agreement and work with other countries to provide similar training to the Pacific Fleet.
Negotiations now are underway with Chile to send a submarine north to San Diego for 90- to 120-day periods, said Dave Smith of Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. “We’re close to an agreement,†he said, adding that other potential partners in South America also could participate.
Peru and Colombia have been sending submarines to the Atlantic Fleet for ASW training since 2001, when the Diesel-Electric Submarine Initiative (DESI) program was established. Those subs normally work out of Mayport, Fla., on three- to six-month tours.
The U.S. Navy is working to bring other Latin American countries into the DESI program, Smith said, confirming that Brazil is a potential new participant.
The Swedish naval presence in San Diego was never very big. The 27-member crew of the Götland, which includes women, was supported by a small staff of about five people. Sweden rotated crews to San Diego for the first year of the agreement, but the same crew has been assigned for 2006-2007.
The Götland is expected to wrap up its training in early June and could leave San Diego by the end of the month. Just as it did on the 2005 transit, the sub will take the easy way home — aboard a heavy-lift ship.
By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS
The two-year Swedish naval presence in the Pacific Ocean is about to end.
U.S. Navy officials confirmed May 24 that the Swedish submarine Götland will soon return home after providing the Pacific Fleet the chance to practice the craft of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) with some of the world’s best submariners.
“I think every strike group on the West Coast had a chance to interact with Götland,†said Cmdr. Dan Bacon of the 3rd Fleet in San Diego. “Normally strike groups are lucky to get one or two exercises with a foreign diesel submarine when they’re on deployment. This allowed us to have every West Coast deployer see what it’s like to work with a diesel submarine.â€
The Swedish government agreed in October 2004 to send the submarine halfway around the world from its base in the Baltic Sea. The U.S. Navy — which funded the entire effort — requested the sub as part of an effort to improve the level of ASW training against quiet, battery-powered undersea craft. The Swedes fit the bill perfectly. The 1,600-ton Götland, completed in 1996, carries advanced sensors and, in addition to diesel engines and electric motors, is fitted with a Stirling air-independent-propulsion system, allowing the craft to remain underwater far longer than a battery boat.
Götland arrived in San Diego in late June 2005 aboard a heavy-lift ship and first put to sea two weeks later. The contract with the U.S. Navy stipulated the ship would provide up to 120 days of underway training a year, and according to Bacon, “they did at least 250 underway days [over the two years] supporting training, ASW, research. Everything we asked of them, they exceeded our expectations.â€
A second one-year agreement to operate the Götland in San Diego was agreed to early in 2006. U.S. and Swedish officials decided in February 2007 to end the agreement and work with other countries to provide similar training to the Pacific Fleet.
Negotiations now are underway with Chile to send a submarine north to San Diego for 90- to 120-day periods, said Dave Smith of Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. “We’re close to an agreement,†he said, adding that other potential partners in South America also could participate.
Peru and Colombia have been sending submarines to the Atlantic Fleet for ASW training since 2001, when the Diesel-Electric Submarine Initiative (DESI) program was established. Those subs normally work out of Mayport, Fla., on three- to six-month tours.
The U.S. Navy is working to bring other Latin American countries into the DESI program, Smith said, confirming that Brazil is a potential new participant.
The Swedish naval presence in San Diego was never very big. The 27-member crew of the Götland, which includes women, was supported by a small staff of about five people. Sweden rotated crews to San Diego for the first year of the agreement, but the same crew has been assigned for 2006-2007.
The Götland is expected to wrap up its training in early June and could leave San Diego by the end of the month. Just as it did on the 2005 transit, the sub will take the easy way home — aboard a heavy-lift ship.