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Sweden Just Made an AI Submarine to Prowl the Baltic
I promise, no Swedish Chef jokes…
Sweden just unveiled a project that could change the balance of naval power in the Baltic… Or, at least, make it harder for Russia’s gray-zone warfare in the region. Saab is developing a brand-new, large autonomous submarine.
No crew. No bunks. No hot meals. No stinky sailors. Just a silent machine prowling beneath the waves.
This is Saab’s LUUV, short for Large Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle. It’s Sweden’s answer to the rising demand for unmanned systems below the surface, and maybe, Europe’s second-cousin-twice-removed to Australia’s “Ghost Shark” autonomous sub program.
Saab just inked a 60-million-kronor contract with Sweden’s Defense Materiel Administration, the FMV, to design, build, and put to sea a large autonomous submarine.
And they aren’t talking about a far-off 2035 pipe dream either. Saab says the first LUUV will be in the water for sea trials by the summer of 2026. In defense timelines, that’s lightning speed.
The real ace up Saab’s sleeve is that they’re not starting from scratch. The brains of this beast will be powered by their existing Autonomous Ocean Core, a software suite that already runs autonomous surface vessels.
