Balzam-class intelligence ship

The Balzam class, Soviet designation Project 1826 is a class of intelligence collection ships built in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy during the 1980s.[5][6] They are also known as Lira class, after the first vessel of the class.

A starboard view of the Soviet Balzam-class general intelligence collector ship underway in international waters as United States Navy ships sail out from Norfolk, Virginia, at the beginning of NATO Exercise Ocean Safari '85.
Class overview
BuildersYantar Yard Kaliningrad
Operators
Preceded byPrimor'ye-class surveillance ship
Succeeded byVishnya-class intelligence ship
Built1980–1986
In commission1980–1987
Planned4
Completed4
Active1[1]
Laid up2[2]
Retired1
General characteristics
Typeintelligence ship
Displacement4,900 tons full load
Length105 m (344 ft)
Beam15.5 m (51 ft)
Draught5 m (16 ft)
Propulsion2 shaft diesel 9,000 hp (6,700 kW)
Speed20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement220
Sensors and
processing systems		Sonar: MG-349 hull mounted array,[3] MG-13 underwater communications, MG-7
Electronic warfare
& decoys		Cage Pot I, Twin Wheel, Log Maze[4]
Armament2 × 4 9K32 Strela-2 positions, 1 × 30 mm AK-630 anti-aircraft gun, 1×7 55 mm MRG-1 grenade launcher

Design and role

Built by the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, they the first Soviet vessels specifically designed to gather SIGINT electronic intelligence via an extensive array of sensors.[1] The data could be transmitted to shore via satellite link antennas housed in two large radomes. They were the first Soviet AGIs to be armed, carrying one AK-630 CIWS gun system and Strela anti-aircraft missiles.

The last remaining Balzam class ship in active service is 344 ft in length, mounting a Medium Frequency sonar, High Frequency dipping sonar, Electronic warfare gear to include jammers, interception devices and code-breaking software. These ships were revolutionary when built in that they carried not only intercept and direction-finding electronics but also the necessary computing power to feed raw signal data into on-board information processing computers.

The ships has underway replenishment system same as two four-round Strela-2M (SA-N-5 Grail) IR-Guided SAM's and a single six-barrelled 30 mm gun installed. The weapons rely on a single remote Kolonka pedestal director instead of fire control radars, presumably to avoid interfering with the electronic support suite.[1]

Ships
Name Hull No. Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Fleet Status
Lira 516 Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad 9 February 1980 Northern Fleet Decommissioned in 1997
Azia 493 Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad 13 February 1981 Pacific Fleet Decommissioned
Pribaltica 80 Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad 28 July 1984 Pacific Fleet Active
Belomore 463 Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad 7 February 1987 Northern Fleet In reserve

Operations

In July 2016, SSV-80 was deployed to monitor the RIMPAC 2016 naval exercises off Hawaii.[7][8] The United States Coast Guard spotted the same ship south of Oahu in March 2020.[9]

She was also deployed in May of 2022, presumably to observe the USS Ronald Reagan and her battle group as they deployed from their Japanese homeport.

See also

References
  1. "Balzam Class Intelligence Collection Ship". Military-Today.com.
  2. Toppan, Andrew (18 October 2001). "World Navies Today: Russian General Support Auxiliaries". Hazegray.org.
  3. "Large intelligence ship - Project 1826". Russianships.info.
  4. "SSV Balzam [Pr.1826 Rubidiy]". Command: Modern Air Naval Operations.
  5. "1826 Belomor'ye/Lira/Balzam class". Warfare.be. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014.
  6. "Bal'zam Class / Project 1826 Intelligence Gathering Ship in Pictures". Sword of the Motherland Historical Foundation.
  7. Johnson, Natalie (8 July 2016). "A Russian spy ship was spotted off the Hawaiian coast during military drills". Business Insider.
  8. LaGrone, Sam (6 July 2016). "Russian Spy Ship Now Off Hawaii, U.S. Navy Protecting 'Critical Information'". USNI News.
  9. "Российский разведывательный корабль замечен вблизи главной базы ВМС США на Тихом океане" [Russian reconnaissance ship spotted near the main US Navy base in the Pacific]. Militarynews.ru (in Russian). 9 March 2020.
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