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
Builders: Yantar Yard Kaliningrad
Operators:
Preceded by: Primor'ye-class surveillance ship
Succeeded by: Vishnya-class intelligence ship
Built: 1980–1986
In commission: 1980–1987
Planned: 4
Completed: 4
Active: 1[1]
Laid up: 2[2]
Retired: 1
General characteristics
Type: intelligence ship
Displacement: 4,900 tons full load
Length: 105 m (344 ft)
Beam: 15.5 m (51 ft)
Draught: 5 m (16 ft)
Propulsion: 2 shaft diesel 9,000 hp (6,700 kW)
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement: 220
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]
Armament: 2 x 4 9K32 Strela-2 positions, 1 30 mm AK-630 anti-aircraft gun, 1x7 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 and COMINT electronic intelligence via an extensive array of sensors.[7] 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.[8]

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 In reserve
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.[9][10] The United States Coast Guard spotted the same ship south of Oahu in March 2020.[11]

See also

References
  1. http://www.military-today.com/navy/balzam_class.htm
  2. http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/russia/aux_othr.htm
  3. http://russianships.info/eng/intelligence/project_1826.htm
  4. http://cmano-db.com/pdf/ship/860/
  5. http://warfare.be/db/catid/296/linkid/2171/
  6. http://www.russianwarrior.com/STMMain.htm?1983vehicle_Balzampict.htm&1
  7. http://www.military-today.com/navy/balzam_class.htm
  8. http://www.military-today.com/navy/balzam_class.htm
  9. http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-ship-spotted-off-hawaiian-coast-2016-7?amp;
  10. https://news.usni.org/2016/07/06/russian-spy-ship-now-off-hawaii-u-s-navy-protecting-critical-information
  11. https://www.militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=1&nid=528397&lang=RU

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