Page 34 - NAVAL FORCES 03/2017

Surface & Subsurface

Massimo Annati
Features Fast Patrol Boats

A detailed look at the market Massimo Annati,
for Fast Patrol Boats that Rear Admiral (ret.), served for 38 years in the Italian Navy mostly in the fields of armament
procurement and international cooperation. He currently holds the position of Chairman of
encompasses a wide range the European Working Group on Non-Lethal Weapons.
of operators: Navies, coast
guards, customs, and other to the normal daily burden of any FPC in 2015, to be delivered by the end of this
law enforcement agencies, all maritime security agency. It is year, joining three similar units commissioned
of whom have requirements therefore unsurprising that many in 2013.
to patrol coastal areas. services are strengthening their In 2014, Qatar ordered order 17 HERCULES
patrol forces. Saudi Arabia, the series craft from Ares Shipyard: Two 46m Ares
major regional player, has undertaken a major 150, ten 33m Ares 110 and five 23m Ares 75.
Fast Patrol Boats (FPB) have diverse tasks procurement effort for all its seagoing compo- Five have already been delivered, about a year
that include surveillance, coastal security, nents. In November 2016, the Saudi Border ahead of schedule, and the entire group will
counter-terrorism, border control, counter- Guard received its first of 15 patrol craft built be commissioned by 2019. Three Yonka Onuk
smuggling and -trafficking, fishery protec tion, by Lürssen under a contract signed in March MRTP 34 and three MRTP 16 were also or-
search and rescue, and several more military 2014 for the new CSB-40 model: 40m, 210t, dered in 2014 and are now in construction. The
tasks such as armed coastal interdiction and 30kts, armed with one 27mm and two 12.7mm Bahrain Coast Guard operates eight 18m fast
Special Forces support. While there are some guns, with a crew of 20-25. craft designed by BMT Nigel Gee, ordered in
obvious limits in terms of endurance and pay- Another FPB being added to the Saudi forc- 2014 and built by Ares Shipyard; these com-
load or weapon systems due to their small size, es is the Mk-V, already in service in Kuwait, posite craft can reach 34 knots.
these craft play an important role in maintain- Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman in various config-
ing security and national sovereignty in trou- urations. United States Marine, Inc. (USMI) Equipping FPBs
bled areas. They are relatively affor dable, in has received a contract for 30 craft, capable of
terms of both acquisition and operation costs; 45kts and armed with one MLG-27 gun and During IDEX 2017, Ferretti Defense
provide an adequate number of platforms and, two crewed 12.7mm machine guns (MG). By Systems unveiled its FDS-195, fitted with
thanks to their speed, a responsive force in comparison, the ten Kuwaiti Mk-Vs, delivered a Leonardo HITROLE 12.7 turret and a
case of emergency. in 2013, can reach 70kts and carry the same Leonardo JANUS-N optronic sensor head. The
armament. boat has ballistic protection from Rheinmetall
Gulf States Kuwait also ordered six Yonka Onuk Multi- and, if required, can mount two MARTE Mk2/
Role Tactical Platforms (MRTP) FPBs in Ns on the stern. The 38t craft is 19.5m long
The Persian Gulf is a challenging area, 2016, being built under license by Abu Dhabi and can reach 50kts powered by two MAN
where potential threats include traffickers, Ship Building (ADSB). The Omani Police V12 diesels and surface drives. Russian yard
terrorists and hostile armed forces in addition Coast Guard ordered five 35m Rodman 111 Pella designed and built the RAPTOR (Project

32 NAVAL FORCES III/2017