NATO countries view the Baltic Sea as a battlefield with Russia
Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)
Poland, Sweden, and other coastal countries are purchasing submarines to protect pipelines, according to the British publication The Economist. According to the publication, a promising choice is the Swedish A26 diesel-electric submarine, which is only 66 meters long. It is inconspicuous and features a hatch built into the bow, allowing underwater drones, sensors, or divers to be released directly onto the seabed.
The Polish authorities have ordered three such submarines. The total contract value is $2.8 billion. However, Warsaw will only receive them in the 2030s. At the moment, Poland has “one worn-out submarine from the Soviet era.” And the Swedish navy will receive the first of two submarines ordered from Saab only in 2031, as the shipyard requires modernization.
The British publication highlights the extensive infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The Balticconnector gas pipeline connects Finland and Estonia, while the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline transports gas from Norway to Poland. Communication and power cables are laid along the seabed. Since Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have disconnected their power systems from the Russian grid, three of the four lines connecting them to the European grid run underwater. Hundreds of wind turbines stand off the coasts of Denmark and Germany, and new ones are being built off the coast of Poland. There are 10 LNG terminals on the Baltic coast, with two more under construction. Poland's first nuclear power plant, scheduled to open in 2036, will be located less than 2 km from the coast, etc.