By now we all know that a Chinese ship named Yuan wang 5 is scheduled to arrive at Hambantota port on August 11. After receiving supplies from Sri Lanka, it is said to be engaged in space surveillance operations in the East Indian Ocean. But India says that Yuan Wang is coming to spy on his hubs in South India. However, regarding this ship, Sri Lanka is now like a crab caught in a cave.

Needless to say about the crisis situation that has arisen. So let's take a look at what these tracking ships are today. Ships equipped with big radars like this are called Tracking ships / Satellite Tracking ships.

What are tracking ships?

A tracking ship is used to spy on the enemy. This is why these ships are commonly called Spy ships. Most of these operate directly under the respective country's navy. Spy ships are also known by names like reconnaissance vessels, and technical research ships. Tracking ships are built more like civilian ships than warships because of spying. Often the model of research vessels (research vessels) is used for this.

The main task of spy ships is to look at intelligence information about coastal power plants, bases, etc., monitor naval and air traffic in that area, intercept enemy telephone conversations, radio signals, and radar waves, and decode and record those signals. Spy ships have advantages over satellites as they operate closer to targets.

Tracking/Spy ships operate across borders in international waters. Because then it is difficult for anyone to interfere with the ship. From the international sea, the ship's high-tech equipment tracks the relevant signals beyond the sea limits. Often, the ship's systems operate in a passive mode. Radio receivers, and passive sonar are used for this purpose. The information obtained is then sent to the home country through modern communication systems for further investigation. This type of intelligence is called Signal Intelligence (SIGINT). During reconnaissance, the ship operates in full radio silence.

Spy ships also perform the sub-role called ELINT under signal intelligence. ELINT or Electronic signals intelligence focuses more on gathering non-communicative intelligence information. ELINT involves spying on enemy radar systems, air defense systems, and military equipment such as aircraft. Here the ship's systems are active. But being active is like announcing what you are doing.

The overall role of spy ships,

• Interference with the transmission of communication channels at all frequencies.

• Retransmission of closed communication channels.

• Spying on telemetry.

• Identifying characteristics of foreign transmission sources.

• Identification of sources of electromagnetic radiation.

• Measurement of physical fields.

• Acoustic and electromagnetic mapping of ships and submarines.

• Control of maritime communication.

• Track the movement of enemy ships.

• Monitor artillery fire and missile launches.

• Spying on nuclear research and ballistic missile testing etc.

Satellite tracking ships etc. are more specialized among the types of spy ships. A satellite ship does the work of a normal spy ship as well as space monitoring, spying on satellites, controlling satellites, tracking missiles, supporting missiles launched from their own country, etc. Spy ships have the high-tech sensors and communication systems required for spying in this way. These are equipped with powerful radar systems such as X band and C band. Most of the information related to tracking ships is kept very confidential by the respective countries.

History

A tracking ship is first reported from America. USS Gold Star, a supply ship of the American Navy at that time, was used to search for the communication frequencies of Japanese naval vessels since 1933. Until the attack on Pearl Harbor, the ship has been used to search for intelligence information.

There are not many reports about spy ships during World War II. But the rapid development of spy ships can be seen during the Cold War. At that time, Russia had about 60 spy ships and America had about 80. At the beginning of the '60s, America increased the deployment of tracking ships. Their main task was to develop a specific frequency pattern to identify Soviet submarines. Most of the Tracking ships they produced were called Technical research ships. Although called research ship, their real purpose was an open secret at that time.

USS Liberty is a technical research ship of the US Navy. On 8 June 1967, it was sailing in international waters near Egypt. That was the time when the Six Day War was raging. The Israeli Navy sinks the USS Liberty that day. Israel said that it was thought to be an Egyptian ship. But it is also considered to be deliberate. Maybe Liberty was spying nearby.

At that time, almost all spy ships in the Soviet Union were produced by converting small trawlers. These were called AGI Trollers. AGI vessels have been shown to be more efficient due to their smaller size and look like fishing vessels. Russia and America even signed an agreement in 1972 to avoid conflict due to such spying. Russian spy ships were small in size but they had remarkable satellite tracking ships. Yuri Gagarin and SSV-33 Ural are two such famous Soviet satellite ships. Even now America and Russia have several tracking ships.

On December 22, 2001, the Japanese military observed a suspicious ship traveling near the Amami Oshima Islands in the Kyushu region of Japan. Upon investigation, it was found to be a North Korean spy ship. After a fierce battle, the Japanese Navy manages to destroy it. Currently, countries like Germany, India, Italy, Norway, Spain, and Sweden also have tracking ships. France has a satellite tracking ship named Dupuy de Lôme.

China is equipped with tracking ships as well as satellite tracking ships. The Yuan wang series that is being talked about today is their main type of spy ship that has been produced since the 80s. About 9 ships of the Yuen Wang category have been produced. The ship named Yuan wang 5 will come to Sri Lanka in the future.

What is this yuan wang?

Yuan Wang is the main type of satellite tracking ship used by the Chinese Navy. Yuan wang means 'long view'. China first paid attention to this type of ship in 1965. Yuan wang was produced under the direction of the then Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. Under the first phase of the program, two ships named Yuan wang 1 and Yuan wang 2 were built and launched in 1977 and 1978.

The first mission of these two ships took place in May 1980. Since then, yuan wang ships have been used to monitor domestically produced communications satellite launches as well as support international satellite launches. Based on the success of the next phase of the program, China will soon produce Yuan wang 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 21, and 22 ships.

As explained, the Yuan wang is a type of ship designed to deal with satellites. For example, the Shenzhou 7 and Long March 5B rocket programs are supported by Yuan wang 5, 6, and 7 ships. Several ships are stationed in several parts of the world to support it.

• Yuanwang 1 - Yellow Sea

• Yuanwang 2 - 1500 km southwest of French Polynesia.

• Yuanwang 3 - off the Namibian coast

• Yuanwang 4 - In the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia.

So in this way, Yuan wang is going to go to the northwest Indian Ocean. This ship is coming to Hambantota to get supplies for that.

But India considers yuan wang as a spy ship. According to India, the yuan wang ship has the ability to spy on places at a distance of 750 km. Accordingly, from Hambantota port, China has the ability to spy on 6 strategically important ports and places of military importance in India. According to the Economic Times website,

• Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Plant.

• Coppankulam Nuclear Power Plant.

• Indian Southern Naval Command in Cochin.

This ship has the ability to receive information from a number of sensor locations such as Yuan wang's control under China's strategic force is another point of doubt. More information on the yuan wang crisis will be revealed in the coming week.