APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090022-2
tactical army, very little research is directed toward military engineering equipment. However, many types of civil construction equipment, such as tractors, crane shovels, graders, road rollers, air compressors, and dump trucks, have been designed and produced in Sweden. Larger types of heavy earth working equipment are imported from the West.
The country has an adequate capability for research, development, and production of a wide range of materials and POL-handling equipment. Research activities concern materials-handling vehicles for special cargo configurations, such as straddle carriers and a newly patented ISO (International Standard Organization) container-stacking system which utilizes special fastening devices to hold the containers within the stacking structure. Significant developments of POL-handing equipment include the "Liquitainer" and a semisubmersible bottomless tank. The Liquitainer is a collapsible 400-gallon container designed for the transport of liquid POL products by general-purpose vehicles; when empty, this container can be folded to one-third of its original height and can be used as a platform on the truck bed to hold solid goods or personnel on the return trip. The semisubmersible bottomless tank is constructed of fiberglass-reinforced unsaturated polyester plastic. It is designed for storing oil while anchored in the open sea, lakes, pond, or harbor basins, and for servicing deep draft vessels that cannot enter shallow harbors. These tanks have capacities ranging from 528,400 gallon to more than 2,642,000 gallons and have been supplied to the Swedish armed forces.
An area in which the country possesses an appreciable capability is the research and development of naval weapons. The general design of warships is influenced by the defensive nature of Swedish military policy. Economic considerations have caused increased emphasis on coastal destroyers and smaller vessels, especially minesweepers and motor torpedo boats. The motor torpedo boats in the Royal Swedish Navy, displacing about 190 tons and capable of over 40 knots, are among the largest and fastest in the world. A comprehensive program to develop an improved version of their high-performance patrol craft is concentrating on research in hull form, supercavitating propellers, armament improvements, and engine design. Submarines are being designed for high-submerged speeds, although a design of an advanced hull form, such as the U.S.S. Albacore, has not been seen. Research on submarine propulsion centers on the fuel cell concept of electric propulsion, and the Swedes are developing a 200-kilowatt cell, which will provide for an increased submerged capability. Much emphasis has been placed on deep-sea diving using mixed gases. Progress has been made on saturation diving techniques using submersible decompression chambers aboard ship. These efforts will greatly enhance Swedish capabilities in submarine rescue and ocean bottom searching.
Sweden is aware of the need for advanced underwater weapons systems, and research and development in this field are given high priority. Work on improved torpedoes is underway, and considerable progress has been made in the design of wire-guided torpedoes for use against submarines and surface ships. A small but competent sonar program exists.
2. Biological and chemical warfare (S)
In accordance with the terms of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, Sweden adheres fo a formal policy of restricting its biological warfare (BW) and chemical warfare (CW) activities to the development of defensive capabilities. There have been unconfirmed indications, however, that the Swedes were doing some classified research which might be applicable to the development of an offensive BW capability. Sweden has the necessary organizational facilities, qualified professional and technical personnel, and funds to support an offensive BW research and development program. It is one of the best prepared of all nations in overall CW defense and is capable of supporting defensive military requirements. The country has a solid formulation for an offensive CW capability which has evolved from defensively oriented research.
The Swedes have conducted an active defensive BW program. The two principal organizations responsible for such work are FOA-1 of the FOA and the Bacteriological Institute of the Royal Caroline Medical-Surgical Institute. Defensive BW research and development have emphasized rapid detection and identification systems. Dr. Sven Julian Lundin of the FOA has done research on the use of ultraviolet absorption to measure the fluorescence of biological agents for rapid detection; he has been successful in detecting a single bacterium under laboratory conditions. Dr. Lundin also has studied the attachment of fluorescent antibodies to molecules of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of microorganisms. The ultimate aim of such research is to develop an automated BW agent detection system that will collect a sample, fix, stain, read fluorescence photometrically, and provide specific identification. The Swedes also have demonstrated their familiarity with detection concepts
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090022-2
