First new Polish SIGINT ship enters the water

Jerzy Różycki (261), the first new SIGINT vessel on order for Poland, was launched on 1 July. (Saab)

The first Delfin (Project 107)-class signals intelligence (SIGINT) vessel on order for the Polish Navy, the future ORP Jerzy Różycki (261), has entered the water for the first time.

A launch ceremony for the new ship was held at Remontowa Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, on 1 July, Saab confirmed the same day.

Jerzy Różycki is the first of two new SIGINT ships being delivered by Saab for Poland's Delfin programme under a EUR620 million (USD731.5 million) contract awarded in November 2022.

Remontowa Shipyard is building the hulls under subcontract to Saab, which has overall responsibility for the delivery of the ships, including the installation and integration of the mission systems. The scope of supply also includes follow-on support.

First steel for Jerzy Różycki was cut in April 2023, and the keel was laid down in July that year. The second ship, Henryk Zygalski (264), was laid down in January 2024, and deliveries of both vessels are expected to be complete by 2027.

The Polish Navy is procuring the new SIGINT vessels under its Delfin programme to replace two Modified Moma-class (Project 863) intelligence-collection ships, ORP Nawigator (262) and ORP Hydrograf (263), which were built by Northern Shipyard, Gdańsk, in the mid-1970s.

For more information, please see SIGINT sentinels: European intelligence-gathering vessel programmes .