zlacker

> Sweden had applied for membership into NATO, and had demonstrated its great skill in managing its underwater sound and magnetic sensor systems that successfully tracked Russian submarines that would occasionally show up in remote waters of the Swedish archipelago and be forced to the surface.

This is not exactly the view of the Swedish navy here in Sweden. No Russian submarine has ever been “forced to the surface” in Swedish waters to the best of my knowledge [1]. The only case where the Swedish navy claimed they had proof of a foreign submarine it turned out to probably be minks and herrings.

1. Closest case I’m aware of is Soviet submarine U137 that ran aground on the Swedish east coast due to navigation error.

>>bjorns+(OP)
Sweden had outstanding naval capabilities during the cold war. The Swedish navy frequently chased away foreign submarines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_submarine_incidents

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musk%C3%B6_naval_base

>>Gud+kl
In most cases it’s debatable if there were any submarines. E.g. professor Anna Christensen who was on the 2001 government commission with access to all information has said that she does not think there is solid proof of a single foreign submarine in Swedish waters between 1981 and 1992 (other than U 137 of course).

>>bjorns+it
In 2001 the anti-militarism in Sweden was peaking so that a government appointed commissioner came to the conclusion that there were no subs(except for the sub that were) is hardly surprising.