The Polish Navy’s first signals intelligence (SIGINT) vessel, ORP Jerzy Różycki, was launched on 1 July 2025 at Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. in Gdańsk.
The launch ceremony was attended by senior figures from the Polish Ministry of National Defence, the Armaments Agency, the Navy, the Headquarters of Marine Technology, and the Chief of Reconnaissance and Intelligence Analysis Directorate (J2), underscoring the vessel’s strategic importance.
Commissioned under the DELFIN programme, the ship is the first of two planned SIGINT platforms designed to enhance Poland’s maritime electronic intelligence capabilities. Construction began with the first steel cut in April 2023, followed by keel laying in November that year. The vessel will now enter a fitting-out phase where Saab will install and integrate the full suite of mission systems, before the ship embarks on sea trials.
Named ORP Jerzy Różycki, the ship honours the renowned Polish mathematician and cryptologist who, alongside Marian Rejewski and Henryk Zygalski, played a critical role in breaking the German Enigma code before the Second World War.
“Today marks a significant milestone with the launch of ORP Jerzy Różycki as a testament to the power of cooperation and shared vision,” said Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab. “This project exemplifies how nations around the Baltic Sea, with similar needs and experiences, can come together to develop solutions that benefit us all.”
The DELFIN-class ships are being built by Saab as prime contractor, with Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. responsible for the hulls and Polish firm MMC contributing to the design. Saab retains full responsibility for delivery and integration of the electronic intelligence and mission systems. Several other companies from the Polish defence industry are also involved.
The vessels will collect a wide range of maritime electronic intelligence across the electromagnetic spectrum, providing the Polish armed forces with a modern, sovereign capability in strategic reconnaissance at sea.
Does it have a Vauxhall Vectra Chassis ?
But seriously, this is (these are) a fantastic addition to the the Baltic survailence capabilities. Well done Poland and Saab.
Funny how Saab can still incorporate Aircraft Tech/features in Ships, just like they used to in their cars, hints of Globaleye me thinks.
“People who test drive a Saab, usually buy one”.
Probably has a similar turning circle to the Vectra.
Around £260m a unit. I’ve no idea if that’s cheap or expensive for a SIGINT ship. It’s probably on a par with a Rivet Joint. I’m not sure why Britain doesn’t do spy ships.
It is integrated into T45 and QEC
And Astute.
Hi Jon, why does the UK not do spy ships? good question, one that I made meny moons ago on this site and got shot down with, we have bases all over the world so we don’t need them. Funny that; I am ex-RS worked all over the world, built comm intel centres, did some frequency hoping and atmospheric bouncing still we had blank spots and could not always get what was wanted or needed. Basic reason it could not move and the potential threat knew what we could cover. Before some one says I don’t know whet I am speaking about I will just laugh, been and done things that even PMs don’t know about. I was even told once if I speak about it, three years in the nick and 100,000 fine, God, all forms of issues when I had to transit Switzerland. Or told a very mission impossible if you get caught we don’t know you. Thanks very much.
In my thinking we should have four to six intel ships and three research ships ( passanger type ships that can be used either for naval research or hospital ships). The intel ships could folow a Russian or Chinese task group gatering signal intel. Stay off shore and gater land based radar intel. As for the research ship use the berths for patients and the research labs for medical testing. In normal peace time duties research the sea bed, research natural sea noise at diffrent depths and diffrent locations, very useful if we could make our subs sound like background noise. Research how to use the sea and its terrain to assist the SSN to evade detection or an enemy SSN. Yet in times of war she would become a 500 patient hospital ship with one helicopter landing pad, two landing crafts, six operation theatres.
So does the UK need a spy ship, yes. Possible two to three operating out of Svalbard with the Norwegians and the other two or three where we need them. As for the research ships,in times of peace the main area shuold be the GIUK Gap up to the Arctic and areas of interest. In times of war hospital ship.
If you have that level of expertise Ron I’d be very surprised if you were shot down.
Would a River suffice, so you have presence?
Or does the vessel need to be a dedicated asset? Analysis can, and does take place off site back at the UK with some of our remotely operated locations, so what is the size requirement if it is a dedicated vessel?
HMS Endurance I recall had a box on the roof.
Hi DM,
Hows the world. Expertise, more like being in the wrong place at the right time. If one more senior said your only going for a month I think I would have shot them. In fact I almost wanted to kill my mates when after a three month(turned 18 months) in the desert they asked if I wanted to go to the beach. Nice thought but by that time i had seen yellow sand, red sand black sand gold sand even sand which I still cannot say what colour it was, never mind or don’t even get me on what sand can do to your car, skin, eyes. I had seen so much sand that the beach was the furthest thing from my mind.
The same with Poland, it’s only going to be 7 days, it ended up being my base to operate out off for 11 years. In the end it ended up being that I got posted onverseas in 1981 came back to the UK a few times once for a tech course in Dundee in robotics and some times where it was fly in to fly out. Only returned full time in 2005. Even on my return as I was trying to sort out all off my UK papers such as my NI number (I never knew it, ask for my military number role it of backwards if you want) the government employees asked if I was a refugee or assylum seeker. I almost hit the roof.
Now to your question, does it need to be a dedicated, no. What the ship would need is a good electronic fit out and a massive computer to deel with all the information. So think River Joint in a ships hull.
Thanks, Ron.
Which might be one reason, along with the wider take we get by being part of UKUSA, that we don’t have any dedicated ships.
That computer can be, and is, someplace else. The take is datalinked back to the analysis centre.
MIXC for example is at Collingwood, along with the land based SHAMAN system, I think we bought 7 according to a Navy News article I read about it.
An RAF example, I don’t for one moment think that Shadow has a great big computer in the airframe.
Rivet is different, like the R1s it has quite a few analysts on board.
We have antenna in the M East that have no people on site at all, remotely operated and monitored from the UK.
You’re aware of all this already, clearly. You’ve no doubt serviced some of them.😀
So I assume maritime wise, with the ELINT fits on the likes of T45 ( Shaman ) and Astute, maybe the Admiralty has other priorities.
Would indeed be nice to have a dedicated vessel though.
I agree that the UK needs a spyship, but the RN lacks enough frigates, destroyers, tankers, minehunters, helicopter carrier, etc. The spyship is so far down the list, that sadly I doubt the RN would ever get one.
Perhaps I have been out in the sun too long, but I was wondering if a large narco sub would make a good spy ship platform?
Could not agree more. Our Sigint and Elint used to among the best in the world. We lost places like Baldy Beacon, Hong Kong plus others you will be aware of. Class of three for me. Input from Cheltenham on the fit as well and possibly staffing.
Maybe because HMG are content with the coverage provided by the hundreds of fixed sites, aircraft, ships, satellites and submarines that have such equipment in the UKUSA agreement. The take is so vast, it may well not be a UK asset, yet we get access to most of it.
We also have several locations overseas ourselves, most nations don’t, though a Ron says below that doesn’t cover every base.
And I’ve not counted what might be on the roof of our embassies around the world, as it is inconceivable to me that GCHQ do not take part in Stateroom.
The likes of Poland don’t have that sort of access.
RN has such equipment on T45, and reportedly on SSN, and on QEC.
I’ve always liked the thought of putting a SIGINT fit on the batch 2 Rivers so they can act like an AGI when out and about.
I quite like the way the Dutch went with putting a disproportionate set of ELINT kit on their Holland class OPVs, so that the otherwise unassuming ships could loiter around collecting data wherever they went.
Maybe we could do something similar for the RB2s and extend them in service in the Pacific?
Exactly my suggestion.
But as I mentioned, the UK is not short in take in this area
A spyship does not need to be a warship painted grey either.
Whoops, hadn’t read to the end!
I do wonder if some civilian AGIs, or even RFAs in the Yantar style, would be useful for all of the seabed stuff as well as above water intelligence gathering.
It’s also something the T31s should be equipped to do, as they will be doing long endurance patrols anyway.
According to ABC, the UK is interested in JORN, an over-the-horizon radar.
Although a ship would be cheaper.