Russian Reconnaissance, Electronic Warfare Ship to Enter Service On July 26

The Russian Navy’s first Project 18280 large reconnaissance ship Admiral Yury Ivanov will enter service on Navy Day which this year falls on July 26.

The Ship can keep snoop on enemy ships and aircraft and cripple their electronic warfare systems, Russian media reported today.

“The vessel is designed to provide communication and control of fleet forces, conduct electronic warfare, radio and electronic intelligence, tagging of surveillance components of the US missile defense system and naval SAM components,” Ria Novosti had quoted Anatoly Shlemov, the head of the Defense Procurement and Acquisition department of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, told RIA Novosti earlier this month.

The Admiral Yuri Ivanov, the lead ship of Project 18280, was laid down in late 2004 and launched in autumn 2013. The ship was commissioned with the Northern Fleet.

The construction of the second ship of this series, the intel-gathering ship Ivan Khurs, is nearing completion at the Northern Shipyard (Severnaya Verf) in St. Petersburg. The ship's seagoing tests are slated for Autumn 2016.

The Admiral Yuri Ivanov has a displacement of over 4,000 tons and a cruising range of 8,000 nautical miles.

Project 18280 ships are designed to provide communications and fleet management, as well as SIGINT and electronic warfare.