Order worth more than one billion kronor to Kockums AB

Upgrade of five Landsort-class vessels

Kockums has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to carry out a Mid-Life Upgrade on five Landsort-class MCMVs (Mine Countermeasures Vessels) as well as a general refit. The five vessels shall also undergo a modification for international missions, ordered by the Swedish Navy. Totally the order is worth slightly in excess of one billion Swedish kronor. Work on the design phase is scheduled to start immediately and the first vessel will be taken into the shipyard in March 2005. Work will then continue until 2009. Kockums is the prime contractor. Responsibilities include negotiating the procurement of command and sonar systems. The Landsort-class, which is constructed of glass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP), was built in the early 1980s by Kockums in Karlskrona. These vessels have played an important role in the Swedish Navy’s organization and will continue to do so in future. After the Mid-Life Upgrade, the vessels will satisfy all the demands made on tomorrow’s MCMVs, as part of the international rapid-reaction force to which the Swedish Armed Forces are now committed. “It is naturally pleasing to have received this large and important order for a Mid-Life Upgrade of the Landsort series of MCMVs. It demonstrates the customer’s confidence in our abilities. This order means that we have secured two key orders in a very short time, one for the Landsort series, and one for six hulls for the Royal Danish Navy. This proves that we have the know-how and that we are competitive,” comments President Martin Hagbyhn. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For further information, please contact Kockums’ Information Department: Kjell Göthe, +46 (0)455 – 68 38 88 (direct) or +46 (0)734 - 34 28 88 (cellphone). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kockums stands for leading-edge, world-class naval technology – above and below the surface. We design, build and maintain submarines and naval surface vessels that incorporate the most advanced stealth technology. Other successful products include the Stirling Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, the Kockums Submarine Rescue System (URF) and mine clearance systems. Kockums is part of the German HDW Group. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -