Faced with the growing threat of sabotage to critical underwater infrastructure and a high-tempo security environment, Sweden is transforming its decommissioned signals intelligence (SIGINT) vessel HSwMS Orion (A201) into a dedicated seabed warfare research and development testbed.
Sweden retired its veteran signals intelligence platform, the HSwMS Orion, after 39 years of service in November 2023. By then the sole dedicated SIGINT-vessel of the Navy was in relatively poor shape following a long service life, and it was replaced by the significantly larger new-built HSwMS Artemis.
In a somewhat surprising move, the Royal Swedish Navy has however now declared their intention of bringing back the vessel in a completely new role, as a dedicated testbed for research and development of systems and concepts of operation when it comes to the surveillance of critical underwater infrastructure (CUI). The topic of seabed warfare / CUI protection has risen to the forefront as one of the most important peacetime challenges facing the NATO navies operating in the Baltic Sea, following a string of cut cables and pipelines. In addition, the vessel will retain a secondary SIGINT-tasking, ensuring redundancy in the SIGINT-gathering capabilities of the Swedish Navy. Here as well, the availability of another hull offers the possibility of HSwMS Orion’s usage as a testbed.
The current state of the vessel is something of a question mark, and she is currently undergoing inspection to be followed by sea trials to determine her maintenance needs. Provided everything goes as planned, she will then undergo a docking period at an undisclosed shipyard to be overhauled and receive the necessary modifications for her new role.
An interesting twist is that it isn’t just the vessel that is being brought out of retirement, but her crew will also be sourced from a somewhat unusual pool consisting of officers no longer in active service – be they retired due to age or having ended their military careers early – as well as officers in the reserve and civilians with the appropriate skills. In addition, contracted enlisted and conscripts will also be found in the crew.
The purpose of all of this is to ensure that the research and development work does not impact the operational vessels and units of the Navy. This is also the reasoning behind the crew question, to ensure that the crewing of the Orion will not poach officers and crews from the operational vessels, as these are working at a high rate already due to the demands placed by the tense security situation and the small size of the Swedish Navy. The whole project will be led by the naval staff, which already has recruited key personnel of the crew. As mentioned, while the focus of the HSwMS Orion will be on research and development, it is also confirmed that the capabilities of the vessel are seen as strengthening the armed forces’ situational awareness with regards to threats to CUI as well as naval signals intelligence. No details on the timeline have yet been given, but it seems clear that one of the more unique vessels of the Royal Swedish Navy is set to continue its long career past the supposed retirement.
