Swedish Navy

The Swedish Navy (Svenska marinen) is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is made up of the surface and submarine units of the Fleet and the marine units of the Amphibious Corps. It was founded under King Gustav Vasa in 1522, when he bought ships from the Hanseatic town of Lubeck, and is one of the oldest continuously serving navies in the world. The Amphibious Corps dates to 1902, when a separate Coastal Artillery was established, and it took its present name in 2000. For most of the twentieth century the navy planned against invasion across the Baltic and the protection of merchant shipping, on which Sweden depends for most of its trade. It has taken part in United Nations and European Union operations since 2001.