La. shipyard to deliver 54 PBs

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy has been reducing its patrol boat (PB) fleet in recent years and proposes to continue that trend by retiring its rather new Mark VI patrol boats under the FY-22 budget, after having retired its entire riverine force. The Navy is pivoting to reshape its force with focus on high-end capabilities to counter adversaries. The Navy chose to inactivate its fleet of 12 Mark VI PBs. Last year, the Navy changed the names of the units that had operated the 78-foot-long Mark VI PBs and the smaller riverine-mission patrol boats. In 2012, the Navy selected a SAFE Boats International design for the 12 Mark VIs. The Maritime Expeditionary Security Force (MESF) also operates 164 patrol craft: 117 SeaArk 34-foot Dauntless-class patrol boats and 17 SAFE Boats’ 25-foot Oswald-class patrol boats. The riverine assault craft have been retired. (Gulf Coast Note: In October 2017, the Navy awarded a contract to Metal Shark (Jeanerette, La., shipyard) for a new patrol boat, the PB(X). Metal Shark’s 40-foot Defiant design is really 43-foot-long with a wide-waterplane, sharp-entry hull capable of attaining 40 knots and enhanced handling at cruise speeds of 10 to 15 knots. Metal Shark has 54 of the PBs under contract. Two have been delivered. Ten of the PBs are scheduled to be delivered this year. The current plan is to procure 120 of the PBs over the next decade. (Source: Seapower 06/02/21) The Navy’s Shrinking Patrol Boat Force - Seapower (seapowermagazine.org)