A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship, is a

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

s and

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

s. Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for safety reasons, range ships are used to extend the range of shore-based tracking facilities. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the initial tracking ships were constructed by the U.S. Army and then the U.S. Air Force to support their missile programs. They were generally built on a surplus

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

or Victory ship hull. By 1964, the U.S. Navy took over all the range ships and introduced more. In some Navies, such a ship is also given the Type Designation "Vigilship" or "Veladora", with the Designation Letter "V" or Letters "VC".

Missile range instrumentation ships

Chinese PLA Strategic Support Force

The Chinese ships were purpose built vessels for their role in the navy and the space program. * Yuanwang class ** ''Yuanwang 1'', 1977 – present ** ''Yuanwang 2'', 1978 – present ** ''Yuanwang 3'', 1995 – present ** ''Yuanwang 4'', 1999 – 2010 ** ''Yuanwang 5'', 2007 – present ** ''Yuanwang 6'', 2007 – present

French Navy

The ''Poincaré'' was a converted tanker, but the ''Monge'' was a purpose-built ship. Inactive * ''

Henri Poincaré Jules Henri Poincaré (, ; ; 29 April 185417 July 1912) was a French mathematician, Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philosophy of science, philosopher of science. He is often described as a polymath, and in mathemati ...

'', 1964–1992 — ex-

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

oil tanker Active * ''

Monge Gaspard Monge, Comte de Pelusium, Péluse (; 9 May 1746 – 28 July 1818) was a French mathematician, commonly presented as the inventor of descriptive geometry, (the mathematical basis of) technical drawing, and the father of differential geom ...

'', 1992–present— purpose-built

Indian Navy

* INS ''Dhruv'', 2021–present * INS Anvesh - 2022–present

Pakistan Navy

* PNS ''Rizwan'', 2023–present

Russian Navy / Soviet Navy

The Soviet and later Russian ships were purpose built vessels for their role. * '' Kosmonaut Vladimir Komarov'', 1966–1989 (scrapped) * '' Akademik Sergei Korolev'', 1970–1996 (scrapped) * '' Kosmonavt Yuri Gagarin'', 1971–1996 (scrapped) * ', 1978–2001 (museum attraction) * ', 1978–2006 (scrapped) * ', 1977–2000 (scrapped) * ', 1977–2000 (scrapped) * ', 1967–1989 (scrapped) * ', 1967–1989 (scrapped) * ', 1967–1989 (scrapped) * ', 1967–1989 (scrapped) * '' SSV-33 Ural'', 1989–2001 (scrapped) * ', 1984–2000 (scrapped) * ', 1990

United States Navy/United States Air Force

There are currently only two active Instrumentation Ships in the U.S. Navy inventory: and . The former is now in the inactive fleet. The latter was delivered in January 2012 to replace USNS ''Observation Island'' (T-AGM-23) in 2014. Most of the USN and USAF tracking ships were converted into their role. Some ships were in service with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Inactive

* USNS ''Range Tracker'' (T-AGM-1), 1961–1969 - built as Victory ship (transport/freighter) * USNS ''Range Recoverer'' (T-AGM-2), 1960–1972 - built for

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

* USNS ''Longview'' (T-AGM-3), 1959–1976? - built as Victory ship * USNS ''Richfield'' (T-AGM-4), 1960–1968 - built as Victory ship * USNS ''Sunnyvale'' (T-AGM-5), 1960–1974 - built as Victory ship * USNS ''Watertown'' (T-AGM-6), 1960–1972 - built as Victory ship * USNS ''Huntsville'' (T-AGM-7), 1960–1974 - built as Victory ship * USNS Wheeling (T-AGM-8), 1962–1990 - built as Victory ship * USNS ''General H. H. Arnold'' (T-AGM-9), 1961–1982 - built as C4 class troop ship * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), 1963–1983 - built as C4 class troop ship * USNS ''Twin Falls'' (T-AGM-11), 1964–1972 - built as Victory ship * USNS ''American Mariner'' (T-AGM-12), 1959–1966 - built as

(transport/freighter), US Coast Guard training ship * USNS ''Sword Knot'' (T-AGM-13), 1950s–1982 - C1-M cargo ship built for US

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

* USNS ''Rose Knot'' (T-AGM-14), 1950s–1969 - C1-M cargo ship * USNS ''Coastal Sentry'' (T-AGM-15), 1950s–1972 - C1-M cargo ship * USNS ''Coastal Crusader'' (T-AGM-16), late 1950s–1976 - C1-M cargo ship * USNS ''Timber Hitch'' (T-AGM-17), 1964–1969 - C1-M cargo ship * USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18), 1964–1973 - C1-M cargo ship * USNS ''Vanguard'' (T-AGM-19), 1964–1999 - built as Type T2-SE-A2 tanker * USNS ''Redstone'' (T-AGM-20), 1964–1993 - built as Type T2-SE-A2 tanker * USNS ''Mercury'' (T‑AGM‑21), 1964–1974? - built as Type T2-SE-A2 tanker * USNS ''Range Sentinel'' (T-AGM-22), 1969–1974 - USN (Victory ship variation) ''Sherburne'' (APA-205) * USNS ''Observation Island'' (T-AGM-23), 1977–2014 - built as "Mariner" class merchant ship * SS ''Pacific Tracker'', a U.S. Maritime Administration Ready Reserve Force tracking ship - built as crane ship.

Active

* USNS ''Waters'' (T-AGS-45), 1991–present * USNS ''Invincible'' (T-AGM-24), 2000–present - built as ocean surveillance ship * USNS ''Howard O. Lorenzen'' (T-AGM-25), 2012–present - purpose built to replace ''Observation Island''. * s (T-AGS 60–66), 1994–present

References

{{reflist Missile range instrumentation ships Ship types Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Maritime vessels related to spaceflight Research vessels Research vessels of the United States Rockets and missiles Signals intelligence