HSwMS Orion (A201)

History
Class and type: Signals Intelligence Gathering vessel
Name: Orion
Builder: Kockums
Launched: June 1984
Homeport: Karlskrona
Identification:
Status: In active service
General characteristics
Displacement: 1,400 tons
Length: 61.2 m
Beam: 11.7 m
Draft: 3.8 m
Propulsion: 2 x Hedemora diesels
Speed: 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 8 officers and 18 conscripts

HSwMS Orion (A201) is a signals intelligence gathering vessel in the Swedish Navy.[1]

HSwMS Orion was first launched in 1984. She was built with extensive support from the United States National Security Agency.[2] In November 1985, the HSwMS Orion was rammed by a Soviet minesweeper after she got too close to a Soviet naval exercise.[3] In 1998 Orion received a false bomb threat, which was widely covered in the Swedish newspapers. The ship is manned by Swedish Navy officers and sailors, as well as personnel from the National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA). HSwMS Orion belongs to the 1st Submarine division. Orion shares a hull design with the Fiskeriverkets vessel Argos, an official fishing control vessel.

Replacement

On 22 April 2010 the government of Sweden approved the acquisition of a new ship to replace HSwMS Orion since it no longer meets current sea safety rules.[4][5] On April 17, 2017 a new intelligence ship was ordered from the Saab Group. The new ship is to be commissioned by 2020 and have a displacement of 2300 tons.[6] The construction started March 1 2018 at the Polish shipyard Nauta that has been selected by Sweden to build the new ship.[7] The ship was officially laid down on 19 June 2018.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Försvarets radioanstalt (National Defence Radio Establishment) website". Archived from the original on June 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  2. ↑ Secrets of Signals, Intelligence during the Cold War and beyond, p. 235; Matthew M. Aid, Cees Wiebes, Published 2001 by Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-7146-8182-2
  3. ↑ Secrets of Signals, Intelligence during the Cold War and beyond, p. 235; Matthew M. Aid, Cees Wiebes, Published 2001 by Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-7146-8182-2
  4. ↑ "Regeringskansliet (Government Offices of Sweden) website". Archived from the original on 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2010-09-29. (In Swedish)
  5. ↑ Tomkins, Richard (April 11, 2017). "Sweden taps Saab for signal intelligence ship". UPI. Retrieved April 14, 2017. A SIGINT-vessel is mainly used to intercept radio transmitted signals. The Swedish Navy currently uses HMS Orion for this purpose. HMS Orion was launched by Kockums into service in 1984.
  6. ↑ https://www.fmv.se/sv/Nyheter-och-press/Nyheter-fran-FMV/Nyhet/
  7. ↑ https://navaltoday.com/2018/03/02/swedish-navy-sigint-ship-construction-starts-in-poland/
  8. ↑ https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/2018/june-2018-navy-naval-defense-news/6279-saab-announce-keel-laying-of-swedish-navy-s-future-sigint-vessel.html


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