A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship, is a ship equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets. Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for safety reasons, range ships are used to extend the range of shore-based tracking facilities.
In the United States, the initial tracking ships were constructed by the U.S. Army and then the U.S. Air Force to support their missile programs. They were generally built on a surplus Liberty ship or Victory ship hull. By 1964, the U.S. Navy took over all the range ships and introduced more.
In some Navies, such a ship is also given the Type Designation "Vigilship" or "Veladora"[1][circular reference], with the Designation Letter "V" or Letters "VC".
^"Navy Accepts Delivery of USNS Howard O. Lorenzen". Navy.mil. 12 January 2012. No. NNS120112-16. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
^"SIU - Keel laid for future USNS Observation Island replacement (8/25)". Retrieved 2009-04-04.
February 07, 2024
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A tracking ship also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship is a ship equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for safety reasons range ships are used to extend the range of shore based tracking facilities Missile Range instrumentation Ship USNS Range Sentinel T AGM 22 In the United States the initial tracking ships were constructed by the U S Army and then the U S Air Force to support their missile programs They were generally built on a surplus Liberty ship or Victory ship hull By 1964 the U S Navy took over all the range ships and introduced more In some Navies such a ship is also given the Type Designation Vigilship or Veladora 1 circular reference with the Designation Letter V or Letters VC Contents 1 Missile range instrumentation ships 1 1 Chinese PLA Strategic Support Force 1 2 French Navy 1 3 Indian Navy 1 4 Russian Navy Soviet Navy 1 5 United States Navy United States Air Force 1 5 1 Inactive 1 5 2 Active 2 See also 3 ReferencesMissile range instrumentation ships editChinese PLA Strategic Support Force edit nbsp Yuanwang 2The Chinese ships were purpose built vessels for their role in the navy and the space program Yuanwang class Yuanwang 1 1977 present Yuanwang 2 1978 present Yuanwang 3 1995 present Yuanwang 4 1999 2010 Yuanwang 5 2007 present Yuanwang 6 2007 presentFrench Navy edit nbsp The Monge A601 of the French Navy 1999The Poincare was a converted tanker but the Monge was a purpose built ship Inactive Henri Poincare 1964 1992 2 ex Italian oil tankerActive Monge 1992 present 3 purpose builtIndian Navy edit INS Dhruv 2021 present INS Anvesh 2022 present 4 Russian Navy Soviet Navy edit nbsp Kosmonavt Yuri Gagarin underway 1987The Soviet and later Russian ships were purpose built vessels for their role Kosmonaut Vladimir Komarov 1966 1989 scrapped Akademik Sergei Korolev 1970 1996 scrapped Kosmonavt Yuri Gagarin 1971 1996 scrapped Kosmonaut Viktor Patsaev ru 1978 2001 museum attraction Kosmonaut Georgy Dobrovolsky ru 1978 2006 scrapped Kosmonaut Pavel Belyaev ru 1977 2000 scrapped Kosmonaut Vladislav Volkov ru 1977 2000 scrapped Morzhovetz ru 1967 1989 scrapped Nevel ru 1967 1989 scrapped Borovitchi ru 1967 1989 scrapped Kegostrov ru 1967 1989 scrapped SSV 33 Ural 1989 2001 laid up scrapping in progress Marshal Nedelin ru 1984 2000 scrapped Marshal Krylov ru 1990United States Navy United States Air Force edit nbsp USNS Vanguard underway nbsp U S Army tracking ship 1958 1964 USAS American Mariner docked at Chaguaramus Trinidad nbsp Timber Hitch being supplied with additional fresh water from USAS American Mariner December 1961There are currently only two active Instrumentation Ships in the U S Navy inventory USNS Invincible T AGM 24 5 and USNS Howard O Lorenzen T AGM 25 6 The former is now in the inactive fleet The latter was delivered in January 2012 7 to replace USNS Observation Island T AGM 23 in 2014 8 Most of the USN and USAF tracking ships were converted into their role Some ships were in service with NASA Inactive edit USNS Range Tracker T AGM 1 1961 1969 built as Victory ship transport freighter USNS Range Recoverer T AGM 2 1960 1972 built for US Army USNS Longview T AGM 3 1959 1976 built as Victory ship USNS Richfield T AGM 4 1960 1968 built as Victory ship USNS Sunnyvale T AGM 5 1960 1974 built as Victory ship USNS Watertown T AGM 6 1960 1972 built as Victory ship USNS Huntsville T AGM 7 1960 1974 built as Victory ship USNS Wheeling T AGM 8 1962 1990 built as Victory ship USNS General H H Arnold T AGM 9 1961 1982 built as C4 class troop ship USNS General Hoyt S Vandenberg T AGM 10 1963 1983 built as C4 class troop ship USNS Twin Falls T AGM 11 1964 1972 built as Victory ship USNS American Mariner T AGM 12 1959 1966 built as Liberty ship transport freighter US Coast Guard training ship USNS Sword Knot T AGM 13 1950s 1982 C1 M cargo ship built for US Maritime Commission USNS Rose Knot T AGM 14 1950s 1969 C1 M cargo ship USNS Coastal Sentry T AGM 15 1950s 1972 C1 M cargo ship USNS Coastal Crusader T AGM 16 late 1950s 1976 C1 M cargo ship USNS Timber Hitch T AGM 17 1964 1969 C1 M cargo ship USNS Sampan Hitch T AGM 18 1964 1973 C1 M cargo ship USNS Vanguard T AGM 19 1964 1999 built as Type T2 SE A2 tanker USNS Redstone T AGM 20 1964 1993 built as Type T2 SE A2 tanker USNS Mercury T AGM 21 1964 1974 built as Type T2 SE A2 tanker USNS Range Sentinel T AGM 22 1969 1974 USN Haskell class attack transport Victory ship variation Sherburne APA 205 USNS Observation Island T AGM 23 1977 2014 built as Mariner class merchant shipActive edit USNS Waters T AGS 45 1991 present USNS Invincible T AGM 24 2000 present built as ocean surveillance ship USNS Howard O Lorenzen T AGM 25 2012 present purpose built to replace Observation Island Pathfinder class survey ships T AGS 60 66 1994 presentSee also edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tracking ships Eastern Range List of ships of the United States Air Force List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy Missile Range Instrumentation Ships T AGM Sea Based X Band Radar Western Launch and Test RangeReferences edit Soviet ship Kosmonavt Yuriy Gagarin military today com Poincare military today com Monge INS Anvesh commissioning as seen in Indian Navy song YouTube 9 December 2022 Military Sealift Command Fact Sheet Retrieved 2008 02 10 Range Instrumentation Ship Photo Index Retrieved 2009 04 04 Navy Accepts Delivery of USNS Howard O Lorenzen Navy mil 12 January 2012 No NNS120112 16 Retrieved 2 February 2012 SIU Keel laid for future USNS Observation Island replacement 8 25 Retrieved 2009 04 04 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tracking ship amp oldid 1187545368, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
