November 8, 2018

Mystery Swedish "not a foreign submarine" Revealed as a "SEAL Carrier"

The following is a correction to a previous Submarine Matters article here of October 31, 2018. 

The Swedish military/Defence Ministry have been unusually quiet in explaining a June 2018 sighting of a mystery watercraft seen from the northern shore of Lidingo island (see red marker on map below) near Stockholm, the Swedish capital.  

Also towards the top-right corner of the map note how near Vaxholm is to Lidingo. As this anonymous comment reveals Vaxholm is significant as the watercraft was developed and is being maintained by Swedes (and others) at Vaxholm. Because the waters around Vaxholm are too narrow the watercraft is tested and goes on training missions on the broader, more open, waters immediately to the north of Lidingo.

The mysterious watercraft was a "SEAL Carrier" which can submerge and surface. See the 2018 version of the SEAL Carrier performing at Youtube B below and possibly the actual Lidingo Seal Carrier at Youtube C below. The term “SEAL” was originally restricted to Special Forces SEa, Air, and Land (hence “SEAL” Teams) from the US Navy but now "SEAL" has wider application to Special Forces, from other countries, who operate in water.

See excellent 2017 SEAL Carrier marketing Youtube D below.

Why the Swedish military/Defence Ministry are quiet is because the SEAL Carrier is a covert weapon quietly used by Swedish Special Forces "SEALs" (likely drawn from these units). Swedish commercial concerns are also quietly marketing the SEAL Carrier to foreign Special Forces. 


So the Swedish Defence Ministry and Armed Forces are correct in saying the SEAL Carrier is "not a foreign submarine". 



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Youtube A (below) is what the student (standing on the Lindingo shore) filmed - happening in the inlet north of him

- note 11 seconds in until 20 seconds in - are the bow waves of a fast approaching water craft on the surface. Don't worry about the commentary, which is unhelpfully in Swedish.



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Youtube B (below): Downloaded November 8, 2018 from the public-open Internet. The latest SEAL Carrier.



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To clinch it see a side view of probably the June 2018 Lidingo SEAL Carrier in:

Youtube C (below) by K. Ekroth uploaded by Lars Wilderäng on November 7, 2018

 

Note that the SEAL Carrier crew don't seem worried by a civilian boat filming them and there are no guardboats warding off these civilians.

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Below is a London Defence and Security Equipment International DSEI 2017 SEAL Carrier marketing video Youtube D showing that it a mature and versatile system, already in use by some Special Forces.

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Submarine Matters in August 2014 reported at https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2014/08/navy-seal-and-submarine-capabilities.html on several types of  SEAL delivery vehicles. At scroll a third way down to see a 2014 photo (reproduced below) and Swedish connection reference to the SEAL Carrier 
2014 Photo of SEAL Carrier

On August 1, 2014 US website Wired.com reported https://www.wired.com/2014/08/navy-seal-submarine/
"JF Defence says its "deliveries [are] often named as non-disclosed," but that their six-man SEAL Carrier has been delivered to Sweden's Navy."

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As well as Youtube B see 2018 photos of the current Swedish developed SEAL Carrier. eg. the photo below shows the latest SEAL Carrier in surface, semi-submerged, and submerged modes.



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The case of the mystery SEAL Carrier seen from Lidingo Island

Downloaded from the open-public Internet on November 7, 2018

At https://www.jfdglobal.com/products/swimmer-delivery/seal-carrier/ scroll down 2/3s to
"RELATED DOCUMENTS"

then on the right you’ll see “PDF”, which is:

https://www.jfdglobal.com/files/7915/2394/9269/SEAL_CARRIER_edits_to_V5_2_compressed2.pdf

[NOTE: Almost all data has been removed – except references to “Sweden” and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration “FMV”

'Title...SEAL Carrier, Technical Specification: Designed, manufactured, delivered and supported by ...

Page 3 INT R O D U C T I O N The primary function of all vehicles within The SEAL Pod range is to facilitate the insertion and extraction of Special Operations forces and their equipment. SEAL Carrier is a hybrid surface and sub-surface craft which combines the Swedish commitment...

Page 16 Construction Standards The design and construction of SEAL Carrier complies with the following documents:
Swedish Armed Forces Naval Regulations as stated in RMS.
...in co-operation with FMV;

[NOTE on Pages 21 and 23, references to Voxholm as a SEAL Carrier development/support base]

Page 21 - Training - Vehicle Operations If required, ...can provide vehicle operations training for Pilots, Navigators and Passengers. The training can be delivered either in Vaxholm, Sweden,
[which you’ll note from the map is close to Lidingo island, from where the SEAL Carrier was observed and filmed by the students].

Page 23 - Global Support Network Sweden is the home of The SEAL Carrier. Our facility in Vaxholm is...prospective customers in either Sweden or..."

Anonymous said...

This is a nice video about the SEAL carrier.

/Kjell

Pete said...

Thanks /Kjell

The SEAL Carrier marketing video https://youtu.be/pME2mwVm-w4 is very interesting. I'll put it in the Submarine Matters article.

Regards

Pete

Pete said...

Perhaps like the Swedish speedboat submersible SEAL Carrier there is an interesting National Interest article of April 13, 2019 (originally a 2017 article) pointing to a similar US built "HyperSub".

See "The Marines Are Eyeing A Speedboat That Transforms Into A Spy Sub" at https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/marines-are-eyeing-speedboat-transforms-spy-sub-52282 including

"But the crown jewel of the exercises is likely a militarized version ofthe Hyper-Submersible Powerboat, or HyperSub, a sleek speedboat that converts to a submarine

...Just 45 feet long and weighing in at 30,000 pounds, the HyperSub’s diesel engines power a 30mph surface cruise speed while hauling up to 6,000 pounds of cargo.

...HyperSub is a bit more cumbersome than the existing rigid-hull inflatable craft utilized by the Pentagon, and the HyberSub’s two Innerspace Corporation electric thrusters only enable a top speed of 6mph underwater for up to 12 hours. But compared to other ship-to-shore vehicles, the HyperSub is a true submersible, making it an ideal amphibious assault craft."