The Polish Navy has launched the first of two signals intelligence (SIGINT) ships under construction by Swedish defense company Saab. Named ORP Jerzy Różycki, after the Polish mathematician who helped break the German Enigma code during World War II, the vessel is designed to gather maritime electronic intelligence from naval stations and other ships. It will also perform hydroacoustic reconnaissance to detect underwater threats from both manned and unmanned platforms. The ships are part of the Delfin program, which will replace two aging Project 863 Moma-class radio reconnaissance vessels commissioned in the mid-1970s. Saab received the €620 million ($730 million) contract in November 2022, with deliveries expected by 2027. The first ship’s construction began in April 2023, followed by the second in November 2023, both being built at Remontowa Shipbuilding’s Gdansk shipyard in Poland.
