HSwMS Orion (A201) explained

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

HSwMS Orion was launched in 1984. She was built with extensive support from the United States National Security Agency.^[2] In November 1985, 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 operated 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 17 April 2017, a new intelligence ship was ordered,, from the Saab Group. The new ship is to be commissioned by 2020 and has a displacement of 2,200 tons.^[6] Construction started on 1 March 2018 at the Polish shipyard Nauta that was selected by Sweden to build the new ship.^[7]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Försvarets radioanstalt (National Defence Radio Establishment) website . 2007-07-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070611035355/http://www.fra.se/english.shtml . June 11, 2007 .
2. Secrets of Signals, Intelligence during the Cold War and beyond, p. 235; Matthew M. Aid, Cees Wiebes, Published 2001 by Taylor & Francis,
3. Secrets of Signals, Intelligence during the Cold War and beyond, p. 235; Matthew M. Aid, Cees Wiebes, Published 2001 by Taylor & Francis,
4. Web site: Regeringskansliet (Government Offices of Sweden) website . 2010-09-29 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100714030400/http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/12760/a/144452 . 2010-07-14 . (In Swedish)
5. News: Sweden taps Saab for signal intelligence ship . . Richard . Tomkins . April 11, 2017 . 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. Web site: FMV - FMV beställer signalspaningsfartyg av Saab AB . www.fmv.se . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170411174100/http://www.fmv.se/sv/Nyheter-och-press/Nyheter-fran-FMV/Nyhet/ . 2017-04-11.
7. Web site: Swedish Navy SIGINT ship construction starts in Poland. 2 March 2018.