Swedish defence and security technology company Saab has launched a second signals intelligence (SIGINT) ship built for the Polish Navy.
The launch took place on 14 January at the Remontowa shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland.
The ship, ORP Henryk Zygalski, is the second of two SIGINT ships built by Saab for Poland under the country’s ‘DELFIN’ programme. The lead ship, ORP Jerzy Różycki, was launched on 1 July 2025.
In the January press release, Saab said both ships will be fitted with the required systems and will undergo sea trials before entering service in the 2027-28 period.
Such required systems in the SIGINT role include electronic intelligence capabilities that will enable data acquisition across the maritime electronic intelligence spectrum, the statement added.
“We are pleased to see the second Polish SIGINT ship successfully launched today,” said Mats Wicksell, head of Saab’s Kockums business area, in the statement. “With this important project, we are strengthening co-operation between the Swedish and Polish industries in support of European security in the Baltic Sea region.”
Saab is the prime contractor for the two ‘DELFIN’ programme ships and is also responsible for supplying and integrating the ships’ mission systems. According to the programme statement, Saab is working closely with Polish company Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A., which is subcontracted for ship construction, and with Polish company MMC, which is supporting Saab with design work. Other Polish defence industry entities are involved in project implementation, the statement added.
The ‘DELFIN’ programme has delivered two ships to replace the Polish Navy’s two in-service Project 863 Modified Moma-class intelligence collection ships. Alongside the ‘DELFIN’ programme, Saab has also supplied a new SIGINT ship, HSwMS Artemis, to the Royal Swedish Navy.
In the Baltic region – a congested and contested space between NATO and its regional members on one side and Russia on the other – SIGINT capability is a significant naval operational requirement. Russian naval ships are highly active in the region. All forms of intelligence gathering are also crucial to building the wider maritime situational awareness picture across the region, with NATO, for example, raising the question of whether rogue commercial ships have deliberately damaged critical underwater infrastructure (CUI) in the Baltic Sea in several suspect incidents between October 2023 and December 2025. NATO ships and aircraft have also regularly reported Russian signals-jamming activities at sea in the region. So, bringing two state-of-the-art platforms to the region will enhance national and NATO SIGINT presence and capacity.
by Dr Lee Willett
