A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship, is a

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

s and

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

s. 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 United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the initial tracking ships were constructed by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and then the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

to support their missile programs. They were generally built on a surplus

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slight ...

hull. By 1964, the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

took over all the range ships and introduced more. In some Navies, such a ship is also given the Type Designation "Vigilship" or "Veladora", with the Designation Letter "V" or Letters "VC".

Missile range instrumentation ships

Chinese PLA Strategic Support Force

The 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 – present

French Navy

The ''Poincaré'' was a converted tanker, but the ''Monge'' was a purpose-built ship. Inactive * ''

Henri Poincaré Jules Henri Poincaré ( S: stress final syllable ; 29 April 1854 – 17 July 1912) was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philosopher of science. He is often described as a polymath, and in mathematics as "The ...

'', 1964–1992 — ex-

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

oil tanker Active * ''

Monge Gaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse (9 May 1746 – 28 July 1818) was a French mathematician, commonly presented as the inventor of descriptive geometry, (the mathematical basis of) technical drawing, and the father of differential geometry. Duri ...

'', 1992–present — purpose-built

Indian Navy

* INS ''Dhruv'', 2020–present * INS Anvesh - Sea Trials

Russian Navy / Soviet Navy

The Soviet and later Russian ships were purpose built vessels for their role. * '' Kosmonaut Vladimir Komarov'', 1966–1989 (scrapped) * ''

Akademik Sergei Korolev The Akademik Sergey Korolyov (russian: Академик Сергей Королёв) was a space control-monitoring ship or Vigilship (Veladora) constructed in 1970 to support the Soviet space program. Named after Sergey Korolyov, the head Sov ...

'', 1970–1996 (scrapped) * ''

Kosmonavt Yuri Gagarin ''Kosmonavt Yuriy Gagarin'' (russian: «Космона́вт Ю́рий Гага́рин») was a Soviet space control-monitoring ship or Vigilship (Veladora) that was devoted to detecting and receiving satellite communications. Named after cosmo ...

'', 1971–1996 (scrapped) * ', 1978–2001 (museum attraction) * ', 1978–2006 (scrapped) * ', 1977–2000 (scrapped) * ', 1977–2000 (scrapped) * ', 1967–1989 (scrapped) * ', 1967–1989 (scrapped) * ', 1967–1989 (scrapped) * ', 1967–1989 (scrapped) * ''

SSV-33 Ural ''SSV-33 Ural'' (''ССВ-33 Урал''; NATO reporting name: Kapusta, Russian for " cabbage") was a command and control naval ship operated by the Soviet Navy. ''SSV-33''s hull was derived from that of the nuclear powered s with nuclear marin ...

'', 1989–2001 (laid up, scrapping in progress) * ', 1984–present * ', 1990

United States Navy/United States Air Force

There are currently only two active Instrumentation Ships in the U.S. Navy inventory: and . The latter was delivered in January 2012 to replace USNS ''Observation Island'' (T-AGM-23) in 2014. Most of the USN and USAF tracking ships were converted into their role. Some ships were in service with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Inactive

* USNS ''Range Tracker'' (T-AGM-1), 1961–1969 - built as

(transport/freighter) * USNS ''Range Recoverer'' (T-AGM-2), 1960–1972 - built for

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

* USNS ''Longview'' (T-AGM-3), 1959–19? - built as Victory ship (transport/freighter) * USNS ''Richfield'' (T-AGM-4), 1960–1968 - built as Victory ship (transport/freighter) * USNS ''Sunnyvale'' (T-AGM-5), 1960–1974 - built as Victory ship (transport/freighter) * USNS ''Watertown'' (T-AGM-6), 1960–1972 - built as Victory ship (transport/freighter) * USNS ''Huntsville'' (T-AGM-7), 1960–1974 - built as Victory ship (transport/freighter) *

USNS Wheeling (T-AGM-8) USNS ''Wheeling'' (T-AGM-8) was a ''Wheeling''-class missile range instrumentation ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1962 and converted from her Victory ship cargo configuration to a missile tracking ship, a role she retained for a number of year ...

, 1962–1990 - built as Victory ship (transport/freighter) * 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 (transport/freighter) * USNS ''American Mariner'' (T-AGM-12), 1959–1966 - built as

(transport/freighter), US Coast Guard training ship * USNS ''Sword Knot'' (T-AGM-13), 1950s–1982 - C1-M cargo ship built for US

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

* USNS ''Rose Knot'' (T-AGM-14), 1950s–1969 - C1-M cargo ship built for US

* USNS ''Coastal Sentry'' (T-AGM-15), 1950s–1972 - C1-M cargo ship built for US

* USNS ''Coastal Crusader'' (T-AGM-16), late 1950s–1976 - C1-M cargo ship built for US

* USNS ''Timber Hitch'' (T-AGM-17), 1964–1969 - C1-M cargo ship built for US

USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18) USNS ''Sampan Hitch'' (T-AGM-18) was a missile range instrumentation ship which earlier operated as the U.S. Air Force ''Ocean Range Vessel'' USAFS ''Sampan Hitch'' (ORV-1836) on the U.S. Air Force's Eastern Test Range during the late 1950s and ea ...

, 1964–1973 - C1-M cargo ship built for US

* 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 (Victory ship variation) ''Sherburne'' (APA-205) * USNS ''Observation Island'' (T-AGM-23), 1977–2014 - built as "Mariner" class merchant ship

Active

* USNS ''Waters'' (T-AGS-45), 1991–present * USNS ''Invincible'' (T-AGM-24), 2000–present - built as

ocean surveillance ship ''Stalwart''-class auxiliary general ocean surveillance ships ( T-AGOS) were a class of United States Naval Ship (USNS) auxiliary support Ocean Surveillance Ships commissioned between April 1984 and January 1990. Their original purpose was to c ...

* USNS ''Howard O. Lorenzen'' (T-AGM-25), 2012–present - purpose built to replace ''Observation Island''. * s (T-AGS 60-66)

References

{{reflist Missile range instrumentation ships Ship types Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Maritime vessels related to spaceflight Research vessels Research vessels of the United States Rockets and missiles Signals intelligence