The Vishnya class (

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

) (also known as the ''Meridian'' class), Soviet designation Project 864, are a group of intelligence collection ships built for the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

in the 1980s. The ships continue in service with the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

. The Russian Navy operates seven of these ships.

Design

These ships are large, purpose built ships designed for

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

gathering via an extensive array of sensors. The data could be transmitted to shore via satellite link antennas housed in two large radomes. The ships are armed with two

AK-630 The AK-630 is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber. The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic ...

close-in weapon systems and SA-N-8

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

(SAM) launchers, for last resort self-defense.

Operations

On September 23, 2012, SSV ''Viktor Leonov'' was at dock in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. Other ships visited in 2013. On February 27, 2014, SSV ''Viktor Leonov'' docked in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia would establish permanent bases in Cuba, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Singapore, and the Seychelle islands. ''Vasily Tatishchev'' was deployed to the Eastern

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

on 5 October 2015 to monitor the conflict in Syria. On January 20, 2015, SSV ''Viktor Leonov'' was at dock in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. On February 15, 2017, CNN reported that SSV ''Viktor Leonov'', a Russian spy ship was sitting off the coast of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. 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, was off the coast of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, but typically she only travels as far north as

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. 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 South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

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.". In the documentary series Warship: Life at Sea, filmed aboard

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland in Autumn 2020, 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.

Ships

References

External links

Vishnya class Complete Ship List
{{Soviet and Russian ships after 1945 Poland–Soviet Union relations Signals intelligence Auxiliary ships of the Soviet Navy Ships built in Gdańsk Auxiliary surveillance ship classes Naval ships built in Poland for export

Design

Operations

Ships

See also

References

External links