Vishnya-class intelligence ship

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SSV-535 Kareliya (foreground) and USS Texas in 1988
Class overview
BuildersStocznia Północna, Gdańsk, Poland
Operators
Preceded byBalzam class
Succeeded byYury Ivanov class
In commission1985–present
Planned7
Completed7
Active7
General characteristics
TypeIntelligence collection ship
Displacement3,470 tons full load
Length91.5 m (300 ft 2 in)
Beam14.6 m (47 ft 11 in)
Draught4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
Propulsion2 shafts, 2x Zgoda Sulzer 12AV 25/30 diesel engines, 4,400 bhp (3,300 kW)
Speed16 knots
Complement146 (= 6 passengers)
Sensors and
processing systems		Radar:[1] MR-212/201 (Palm Frond) Sonar: MG-349, MGP-303
Electronic warfare
& decoys		Various intercept arrays and radio direction finding equipment
Armament
SSV-208 Kurily in 2005

The Vishnya class (NATO reporting name) (also known as the Meridian class),[2] Soviet designation Project 864,[2] are a group of intelligence collection ships built for the Soviet Navy in the 1980s. The ships continue in service with the Russian Navy.[3] The Russian Navy operates seven of these ships.[2]

Design

These ships are large, purpose built ships designed for signals intelligence gathering via an extensive array of sensors.[4] The data could be transmitted to shore via satellite link antennas housed in two large radomes. The ships are armed with two AK-630 close-in weapon systems and SA-N-8 surface-to-air missile (SAM) launchers, for last resort self-defense.

Operations

On September 23, 2012, SSV Viktor Leonov was at dock in Havana.[5][6] Other ships visited in 2013.[7]

On February 27, 2014, SSV Viktor Leonov docked in Havana’s cruise ship area, the same day Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia would establish permanent bases in Cuba, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Singapore, and the Seychelle islands.[8][9][6][10][11]

Vasily Tatishchev was deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea on 5 October 2015 to monitor the conflict in Syria.[12]

On January 20, 2015, SSV Viktor Leonov was at dock in Havana.[13]

On February 15, 2017, CNN reported that SSV Viktor Leonov,[14][5] a Russian spy ship was sitting 30 miles (48 km) off the coast of Connecticut.[15] This is the farthest north the Russian spy vessel has ever ventured, according to US defense officials. CNN later reported that Viktor Leonov, which conducted similar patrols in 2014 and 2015,[16] was off the coast of Delaware, but typically she only travels as far north as Virginia.[17][18] The ship is based with Russia's Northern Fleet but had stopped over in Cuba before conducting her patrol along the Atlantic Coast and is expected to return there following her latest mission. She was spotted operating off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia in December 2019. The United States Coast Guard at the time published a MSIB alleging unsafe operations being performed in that area, including running without navigation lights, and failing to respond to hails. The ship is outfitted with a variety of high-tech interception equipment and is designed to intercept signals intelligence. The official said that the US Navy was "keeping a close eye on it.".[19]

In the documentary series Warship: Life at Sea, filmed aboard Royal Navy type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland in Autumn 2020,[20] SSV Viktor Leonov is featured loitering off the British coast where she was suspected to be attempting to surveil a US Navy submarine en route to a British port. The Duke-class frigate took up a defensive posture between the two vessels and employed noise-making countermeasures to interfere with intelligence gathering. On the same patrol, Northumberland was involved in a further incident while tracking an unnamed Russian SSN, when the submarine collided with the frigate's towed-array sonar.[21]

Ships

Name Hull No. Laid down Launched Commissioned Fleet Status Notes
Fedor Golovin
(ex-Meridian) 		520 14 November 1985 Baltic Fleet Active
Kareliya 535 5 July 1986 Pacific Fleet Active Active in 2021–2022 off Hawaii[22][23][24][25]
Tavriya 169 17 January 1987 Northern Fleet In reserve Part donor for Viktor Leonov[26]
Priazovye 201 12 June 1987 Black Sea Fleet Active In 2020–2021 deployed to the Mediterranean Sea[27]
Kurily 208 16 October 1987 Pacific Fleet Active
Vasiliy Tatishchev
(ex-Pelengator) 		231 27 November 1987 23 July 1988 Baltic Fleet Active In 2021 deployed to the Red Sea,[28] in July 2022 to the Adriatic Sea[29]
Viktor Leonov
(ex-Odograf) 		175 1988 Northern Fleet Active In 2019–2020 active off U.S. and U.K., docks in Havana[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Medium intelligence ship - Project 864". Russianships.info.
  2. ^ a b c "Project 864". Deagel.com. 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. The Project 864, also known as the Vishnya and Meridian, is an electronic surveillance and intelligence gathering ship built by Stocznia Polnocna shipyard in Gdansk (Poland) for the Soviet Union's Navy in the 1980s.
  3. ^ Toppan, Andrew (18 October 2001). "World Navies Today: Russian General Support Auxiliaries". Hazegray.org. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008.
  4. ^ "864 Vishnya class". Warfare.be. 2015. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b "RFS VIKTOR LEONOV CCB175". ShipSpotting.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2022. Ship Photos and Ship Tracker
  6. ^ a b Winter, Michael (27 February 2014). "Russian spy ship visits Havana". USA TODAY. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  7. ^ "What's an advanced Russian warship doing in Havana harbor?". PBS NewsHour. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Why did Russia send spy ship to Cuba?: No word from Communist nation as armed vessel docks in Havana". National Post. AFP. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  9. ^ Ellis, R. Evan. The New Russian Engagement with Latin America: Strategic Position, Commerce, and Dreams of the Past (PDF). United States Army War College.
  10. ^ "Russian Navy Ships Take Part in Anti-Drug Drills in Caribbean". Honduras News. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  11. ^ Oppenheimer, Andres (30 March 2014). "Russian military bases in Latin America?". Stabroek News. Lacytown, Georgetown, Guyana. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  12. ^ Pike, John (15 March 2017). "Vishnya Meridian Project 864 class". Globalsecurity.org.
  13. ^ "CubaBrief: The Russian reset 10 years later, its expanded military role in Latin America, and the possibility of a new crisis". Center for a FREE Cuba. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2022. Russian spy ship Viktor Leonov at the port in Havana, January 20, 2015.
  14. ^ "Russian navy ships on patrol in the Caribbean". Curaçao Chronicle. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  15. ^ Taube, David (16 February 2017). "Congressman: Russian spy ship loitering by Connecticut". WXII. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  16. ^ Bostock, Bill. "US accuses Russian spy ship of 'unsafe' maneuvers off US east coast for sailing with no warning lights, ignoring other ships, and risking a crash". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  17. ^ Vergakis, Brock (24 January 2018). "U.S. Navy tracks Russian spy ship 30 miles off Virginia coast". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  18. ^ Martinez, Luis (16 March 2017). "Russian spy ship returns to East Coast of US". ABC News. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  19. ^ Browne, Ryan; Starr, Barbara (16 February 2017). "Russian spy ship lurks off Connecticut coast". CNN.
  20. ^ "HMS Northumberland gets up close with a Russian submarine". Navy Lookout. 7 January 2022.
  21. ^ Keane, Daniel (7 January 2022). "Russian submarine collided with Royal Navy warship in North Atlantic". The Standard. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  22. ^ "UPDATED: Russian Navy Surveillance Ship Quietly Operating off Hawaii". USNI News. 26 May 2021.
  23. ^ "ТОФ возвращает в строй СРЗК "Карелия"" [SRZK "Karelia" returns to the Pacific Fleet]. Vestiprim.ru (in Russian). 20 July 2017.
  24. ^ "Vishnya-class Intelligence Ship Karelia rejoined the Russian Pacific Fleet". Navy Recognition. 24 July 2017.
  25. ^ "A Russian spy ship has been sailing around Hawaii for days". American Military News. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Состояние Разведывательных Кораблей Вмф России. Аналитика".
  27. ^ "Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk04/2021". Russian Fleet Analysis. 26 January 2021.
  28. ^ "Russian Warships Visit Port Sudan amidst Reports of Khartoum Suspending Naval Base Deal". defenseworld.net. 8 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Russian Navy in the Adriatic sea. Why?". YouTube.
  30. ^ "Russian intelligence ship Viktor Leonov arrives in Havana". Navalpost. 5 March 2020.