Much thought has been placed in the submarine's acoustic signature to help the boat maintain an advantage in the undersea hunting game while long-term maintenance is to be kept at a minimum to reduce in-dock times for maintenance, repairs and general overhauls. Beyond this is attention being paid to making the A26 a long-endurance attack submarine capable of deep water ocean operation - moving the Swedish fleet away from its usual coastline duties.
Of note is that the bow of the submarine has a multi-mission porthole which can house a mini-submersible to provide an extended set of "eyes" underwater - useful when supporting rescue operations or special forces actions.
Externally, the boat exhibits a conventional submarine arrangement. The sail, of a rather unique and low-profile design, sits ahead of midships and contains the needed sensors and communications equipment as well as the dive planes. The tailplanes (including the rudder) are arranged in an "X" pattern aft and is consistent with previous Swedish Navy submarine designs. The multi-bladed propeller unit sits just outside of the tailplanes.
To date, the A26 has had something of a prolonged and somewhat troubled development history centered between logistical, industry and political meandering issues all-the-while time slips away from the existing in-service Swedish submarine fleet. The Swedish Navy is planning on having its two A26 submarines online on or around 2022 and these will most likely begin their careers operating side-by-side with the existing Gotland-class boats. The current (2017) Swedish submarine fleet numbers five boats (3 x Gotland-class and 2 x Sondermanland-class).
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