On April, 27, steel for the first of a series of two SIGINT (signal intelligence) type radio-electronic reconnaissance ships for the Polish Navy was cut at Remontowa Shipbuilding. The ships will support intelligence acquisition and conduct hydroacoustic reconnaissance based on sounds generated by submarines.
The main contractor is SAAB Kockums AB, which signed a contract with the Armament Agency in November 2022 for the design, construction, delivery and logistical support of two such ships under the programme codenamed Dolphin for the Polish Navy. The Swedish company is also responsible for integrating advanced systems for intelligence missions.
The ceremony was attended by, among others, Vice Admiral Jarosław Ziemiański – Inspector of the Navy, Commander Piotr Skóra – Chief of Maritime Technology – Armament Agency, Mats Wicksell – CEO and Head of SAAB Kockums AB, Lars Brännström – Deputy CEO of SAAB Kockums AB, Jyrki Kujansuu – President of SAAB Technologies, Magnus Nelsen – Project Manager, representatives of shipyards from the Remontowa Holding group. The representatives of the Polish Navy, financial institutions and companies directly cooperating in the construction of these modern ships were also present.
– We are proud and happy to have been invited to participate in the programme to build two ships for the Polish Navy. We would like to thank you for entrusting us with this unique project,” said Krzysztof Radzikowski, project manager at Remontowa Shipbuilding at the ceremony. – Our shipyard has built over 1,000 vessels in its history, more than 600 of them for the Navy, he added.
According to the contract, Remontowa Shipbuilding is building complete and fully outfitted platforms except for radio-electronic reconnaissance systems. It will also conduct the necessary trials and commissioning, including Harbour Acceptance Tests (HAT) and Sea Acceptance Tests (SAT). The Polish company will then deliver the ship to the Swedes, who will retrofit her with specialised signal intelligence systems.
Once the ship is handed over to the Ordering Party, they will replace the Project 863 radio-electronic reconnaissance units currently in service by the Navy: the ORP Nawigator and ORP Hydrograf, built in 1975 and 1976 respectively, at Northern Shipyard, i.e. the current Remontowa Shipbuilding.
Photos: Sławomir Lewandowski / PortalMorski.pl
source: PortalMorski.pl
