The Type 423 ''Oste'' class are purpose built

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

(SIGINT/ELINT) and

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

ships of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified '' Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mar ...

. Officially designated as "fleet service ships", they replaced the Type 422 class. Accommodation for the crew was designed to civil standards, and the ''Oste'' class offers much more comfort for the crew than other ships in the German Navy.

List of ships

The ships were built at Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in Flensburg. All ships are currently based in

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is a ...

and belong to the '' 1st Ubootgeschwader'' (1st Submarine Squadron) stationed in Eckernförde. The vessels received the same name and pennant numbers as the three Type 422 class vessels they replaced. To avoid the confusion, the ship names are sometimes suffixed with ''II''. ''Oker'' (A53) was reportedly spotted near the Syrian coast in August 2012. Later she was seen in Greenwich, UK in February 2017

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Electronic intelligence ships Auxiliary surveillance ship classes {{Germany-mil-ship-stub