Russian ship Viktor Leonov

Viktor Leonov

History
Russia
Name	Odograf [1]
Namesake	Viktor Leonov
Builder	Remontowa Shipbuilding SA, Poland [1]
Commissioned	5 October 1988 [1]
Renamed	Viktor Leonov, 2004 [1]
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Vishnya-class intelligence ship
Displacement	3,100 tons [1]
Length	91.5 m (300 ft 2 in) [1]
Beam	14.6 m (47 ft 11 in) [1]
Draught	4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) [1]
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2 × Zgoda Sulzer 12AV 25/30 diesel engines, 4,400  bhp (3,300  kW) [1]
Speed	16 knots
Complement	146 (6 embarked units) [1]
Sensors and processing systems	Radar: [2] MR-212/201 (Palm Frond) Sonar: MG-349, MGP-303 [1]
Electronic warfare & decoys	Various intercept arrays and radio direction finding equipment
Armament	2 AK-630 six-barreled Gatling 30 mm/L60 guns 2 SA-N-8 surface-to-air missiles [1]

Viktor Leonov (former Odograf) is a Russian SIGINT ship of the Vishnya class (Project 864).

Design

The ship specialises in SIGINT and COMINT. ^[1]

Construction

The ship was commissioned on 5 October 1988 and was constructed in Poland. ^[1]

Career

In December 2019 the ship was sailing off the coast of South Carolina and Florida under conditions described as "unsafe" as the vessel was not using running lights in low visibility weather and did not respond to commercial vessels' attempts to communicate to avoid potential accidents. ^[3] The ship has patrolled in international waters off the eastern coast of the United States since 2015. ^[3] It also often operates in the Caribbean, near Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago. ^[3]

In April 2025 it was monitored by Irish Defence Forces, with LÉ Samuel Beckett monitoring the ship. ^[4]

References

1. "Intelligence ship Viktor Leonov (175)". Shipshub.com. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
2. "Medium intelligence ship - Project 864". Russianships.info.
3. Browne, Ryan (2019-12-17). "Russian spy ship off US coast operating in 'unsafe manner,' officials say". CNN . Retrieved 2025-04-11.
4. Fox, Jackie (2025-04-10). "Defence Forces monitor Russian intelligence-gathering ship off Irish coast". RTÉ News . Retrieved 2025-04-11.