Saab to build SIGINT vessel

New vessel will replace 1980 built HSwMS Orion

APRIL 11, 2017 — Saab has signed a contract with the Swedish Defense Material Administration (FMV) for design, construction and delivery of a Special Purpose Ship for Signal Intelligence (SIGINT). The order covers the period 2017– 2020, with a total value of SEK 730 million (about $81 million).

“Special Purpose Ships of this kind requires high reliability and availability. Saab, and not the least Kockums, has during the years delivered products that live up to these high standards. This contract is also a confirmation on our ability to deliver surface ships,” says Gunnar Wieslander, head of Saab’s Kockums business are.

A SIGINT-vessel is primarily used for interception and analyis of radio transmitted signals. The existing Swedish vessel, HMS Orion, was launched in 1984, and has since then been upgraded several times at Saab’s shipyard in Karlskrona.