Saab firms up Polish contract for two “spy ships”

The Swedish Navy’s SIGINT ship HSwMS Artemis recently departed Saab’s Karslkrona shipyard on sea trials.

Saab has now firmed up a contract signed in November with the Polish Ministry of Defense’s procurement authority Armament Agency for the design, production and support of two signals intelligence (SIGINT) ships for Poland. The agreement has now entered into force as all conditions have been met. As a result, Saab has today booked a value of approximately SEK 6.7 billion (about $655 million) into its order intake total.

Saab will be the main supplier and will design and be responsible for the production of the two ships, as well as integrating advanced mission systems on board. The ships will be built by Polish subcontractor Remontowa Shipbuilding SA. Deliveries are planned for 2027.

The Swedish Navy’s SIGINT ship HSwMS Artemis recently departed Saab’s Karslkrona shipyard on sea trials.

By the way, if you wonder why they’re called “spy ships,” there’s a reason why the highly secret Joint Defense Facility Pine Gap is located in Alice Springs, Australia, which is about as far from any sea water as you can get.