The Philippine Navy (PN) received six Riverine Patrol Boats (RPBs) from the United States this August, 2013 under a US Navy (USN) Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract.
According to an official at manufacturer Silver Ships, a contract was signed with the USN in September 2011 and the boats were completed a year later. However, delivery was delayed until early May this year due to "non-availability of marine transport".
Although the boats are capable of open-water operations, they will be used primarily in shallow waters. They have a length of 40 ft, a beam of 10 ft 8 inches and a draft of less than two feet.
The boats feature a centre console configuration and a bow ramp to permit egress of embarked troops during beaching operations. They have three weapon mounts - two forward and one aft - for machine guns and grenade launchers as well as ballistic protection.
Powered by two Hamilton HJ-292 water-jets, each driven by a Yanmar 6LY2A-STP diesel producing 440 hp, top speed is 40 kt. Fully loaded, range is greater than 250 n miles at a cruising speed of more than 30 kt.
Besides Silver Ships, fellow US boat builder Willard Marine is supplying unspecified numbers of 7 m Sea Force 730 outboard rigged-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) to the PHL Navy under an FMS programme.
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