In 2005, a Swedish Gotland-Class Submarine Slipped Past a U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group — Undetected for the Entire Exercise

In 2005, a Swedish Gotland-Class Submarine Slipped Past a U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group — Undetected for the Entire Exercise

In 2005, a Swedish Saab-built Gotland-class diesel-electric submarine slipped past an entire U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group during joint naval drills — undetected. The Gotland’s edge came from Air-Independent Propulsion using Stirling engines, a system that lets non-nuclear submarines stay submerged for weeks rather than days. A U.S. Navy Virginia-class nuclear submarine costs $4.3 billion; Japan’s quieter AIP-equipped Taigei-class cost…