^ "UPDATED: Russian Navy Surveillance Ship Quietly Operating off Hawaii"."Russian spy ship lurks off Connecticut coast". ^ Browne, Ryan Starr, Barbara (16 February 2017)."Russian spy ship returns to East Coast of US". Navy tracks Russian spy ship 30 miles off Virginia coast". "US accuses Russian spy ship of 'unsafe' maneuvers off US east coast for sailing with no warning lights, ignoring other ships, and risking a crash". "Congressman: Russian spy ship loitering by Connecticut". ^ "Russian navy ships on patrol in the Caribbean".Russian spy ship Viktor Leonov at the port in Havana, January 20, 2015. ^ "CubaBrief: The Russian reset 10 years later, its expanded military role in Latin America, and the possibility of a new crisis"."Russian military bases in Latin America?". ^ Oppenheimer, Andres (30 March 2014).^ "Russian Navy Ships Take Part in Anti-Drug Drills in Caribbean".The New Russian Engagement with Latin America: Strategic Position, Commerce, and Dreams of the Past (PDF). ^ "Why did Russia send spy ship to Cuba?: No word from Communist nation as armed vessel docks in Havana".^ "What's an advanced Russian warship doing in Havana harbor?".^ a b Winter, Michael (27 February 2014).Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. "World Navies Today: Russian General Support Auxiliaries". The Project 864, also known as the Vishnya and Meridian, is an electronic surveillance and intelligence gathering ship built by Stocznia Polnocna shipyard in Gdansk (Poland) for the Soviet Union's Navy in the 1980s. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. ^ "Medium intelligence ship - Project 864".List of ships of Russia by project number.In 2020–2021 deployed to the Mediterranean Sea Īctive off U.S. Ships NameĪctive in 2021–2022 off Hawaii The official said that the US Navy was "keeping a close eye on it.". The ship is outfitted with a variety of high-tech interception equipment and is designed to intercept signals intelligence. The United States Coast Guard at the time published a MSIB alleging unsafe operations being performed in that area, including running without navigation lights, and failing to respond to hails. She was spotted operating off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia in December 2019.
The ship is based with Russia's Northern Fleet but had stopped over in Cuba before conducting her patrol along the Atlantic Coast and is expected to return there following her latest mission.
CNN later reported that Viktor Leonov, which conducted similar patrols in 20, was off the coast of Delaware, but typically she only travels as far north as Virginia. This is the farthest north the Russian spy vessel has ever ventured, according to US defense officials. On February 15, 2017, CNN reported that SSV Viktor Leonov, a Russian spy ship was sitting 30 miles (48 km) off the coast of Connecticut.
On January 20, 2015, SSV Viktor Leonov was at dock in Havana. Vasily Tatishchev was deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea on 5 October 2015 to monitor the conflict in Syria. On February 27, 2014, SSV Viktor Leonov docked in Havana’s cruise ship area, the same day Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia would establish permanent bases in Cuba, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Singapore, and the Seychelle islands. On September 23, 2012, SSV Viktor Leonov was at dock in Havana. The ships are armed with two AK-630 close-in weapon systems and SA-N-8 surface-to-air missile (SAM) launchers, for last resort self-defense. The data could be transmitted to shore via satellite link antennas housed in two large radomes. These ships are large, purpose built ships designed for signals intelligence gathering via an extensive array of sensors.