The Swedish Navy has received the first of its two modernized Gävle-class corvettes after the ship spent an entire decade in refit.
HSwMS Gävle (K22) is one of two Göteborg-class ships still in service and was handed over to the Swedish Navy’s 4th Flotilla on May 4 after a mid-life upgrade that began in 2012. Due to the Swedish armed forces’ financial situation at the time, the process was delayed but work resumed later.
“The flotilla welcomes HSwMS Gävle and her crew back to service. The ship will now be able to contribute to the navy’s ongoing maritime surveillance tasks. The ship and crew and will play an important part in the navy’s active defense”, said Jon Wikingsson, Chief of the Swedish Navy’s 4th Flotilla.
Sister-ship HSwMS Sundsvall is going through the same upgrade process and will be delivered in 2022 by Saab, which is upgrading the ships at its shipyard in Karlskrona.
“It is a do over and modernization of everything on board: She will have the same hull, but more or less all the systems on the inside are new,” said Johan Edelsvärd, project manager for the mid-life upgrade of Gävle at the Swedish defense procurement agency FMV.
According to FMV, the 57-meter ships now feature a new sensor suite with better radar and fire controls, new combat management and navigation systems, as well as a new kitchen.
Once both ships are delivered, they will be known as the Gävle-class. HSwMS Gävle and HSwMS Sundsvall were built in the 1980s as part of a planned six-ship class of corvettes. Sweden eventually ended up with only four units built, after the final two were cancelled following the collapse of the Soviet Union. HSwMS Kalmar and HSwMS Göteborg, the other two ships in the class, have been mothballed.
