SIGINT vessel keel laying

June 22 this year saw the ceremony of keel laying, at PGZ Stocznia Wojenna (Polish Armaments Group’s Naval Shipyard in Gdynia) for the construction of SIGINT electronic reconnaissance vessel destined for Swedish Navy. The unit is to replace the HMS Orion unit currently in service.
In April 2017, Saab announced that it had received a contract from the Swedish FMV agency for defense orders for the design, construction and delivery of an electronic intelligence vessel for the Navy.

The total value of this contract is 730 million Swedish kroner. Its execution takes place in the period 2017-2020. Nauta Shiprepair Yard is the contractor of the platform, launching and carrying out the first sea trials of the ship. PGZ Stocznia Wojenna is a subcontractor of the Nauta shipyard.

The Chairman of PGZ Stocznia Wojenna, Konrad Konefał, in his statement for the media, expressed the conviction that “the contract opens a new chapter in the history of the Naval Shipyard”. “The last keel was placed in the shipyard over 10 years ago, so it is such a symbolic moment of a new breath of shipbuilding infrastructure”.

– Together with the Nauta shipyard, we will build a ship almost entirely, because only specialized devices associated with signal detection, with a cryptography, which is guarded by the Swedish party, will be mounted in Karlskrona – explained Konefał. Launching is scheduled for spring next year. The president of PGZ Stocznia Wojenna anticipates that further outfitting works will be completed within about a year.

Gunnar Wieslander, head of Saab Kockums, explained that radio-electronic reconnaissance ships are primarily used to capture and analyze radio signals. “They must be reliable and have high readiness for tasks. Therefore, shipyards with exceptional industrial competences are needed for their construction “- he stressed.

PBS
Fig.: Saab