The keel-laying ceremony for the first of two new Polish signals intelligence (SIGINT) ships took place on 27 July 2023 at Remontowa Shipbuilding’s facilities in Gdansk, Poland, Saab has reported.
Saab was awarded the contract for designing and producing the two SIGINT ships, including the integration of advanced mission systems, for the Polish Navy on 25 November 2022, with Remontowa Shipbuilding subcontracted to build them. The total order value for the ships was approximately EUR 620 M, with deliveries planned during 2027.
The ceremony was attended by representatives from Saab, the Polish Armament Agency, the Polish Navy, Remontowa Holding and invited guests.
The new SIGINT ships will be used to support the acquisition of intelligence data across the full spectrum of naval intelligence capabilities.
“Naval intelligence ship systems are advanced platforms that need to be highly reliable and available,” Mats Wicksell, senior vice president and head of Saab’s Kockums business area, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “The keel-laying ceremony today is an important milestone in the shipbuilding process and we appreciate the co-operation with our Polish customer the Armament Agency, the Polish Navy and our partner in this project: Remontowa Holding.”
The steel cutting for the first ship took place on 27 April 2023.
Peter Felstead
