Surface combat and submarine hunting are on the program when the navy’s corvettes exercise in the Sea of Bothnia. This weekend, the corvettes will make port visits to Gävle, Sundsvall and Härnösand.
The importance of the sea and shipping is crucial for Sweden, regardless of peace or war. Over 90 percent of Sweden’s imports and exports pass through a port at some point via ship. The Navy is the ultimate guarantor of maintaining territorial integrity at sea and securing both civil and military shipping during all levels of conflict. In early April, the corvettes of the 41st Corvette Division will exercise in the Bothnian Sea with the aim of practicing surface combat and submarine hunting.
– One of our tasks is to help ensure Sweden’s and the alliance’s control over sea areas and shipping. That is why we are exercising within our entire area of operation, which includes the Bothnian Sea, says Captain Jonas Löfgren, Commander of HMS Sundsvall and head of the naval force during the exercise.
The Navy has good cooperation capabilities, both between units, branches of defense, other authorities and partner countries. To maintain and develop our capabilities, the Navy exercises regularly.
At the end of the week, several of the ships will moor in the cities they are named after. The corvettes HMS Gävle, HMS Sundsvall and HMS Härnösand. The division’s fourth ship, HMS Helsingborg, will moor in Sundsvall.