The U.S. Navy delivered two more 35-meter patrol boats (PB-310 and PB-311) to the Iraqi navy at the Umm Qasr naval facility in Iraq, Feb. 17, after each craft successfully completed reactivation in Bahrain.
These are the 10th and 11th vessels in the 12-boat procurement which will assist in reconstituting Iraq’s ability to enforce maritime sovereignty and security in the northern Arabian Gulf.
“Our Navy shipbuilding team has again succeeded in working closely with their Iraqi counterparts to deliver these important assets to the Iraqi navy,” said Frank McCarthey, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships’ program manager for Support Ships, Boats and Craft. “Together with the nine patrol boats previously delivered, these two new vessels are a significant step toward meeting Iraq’s security requirements in the northern Arabian Gulf.”
The U.S. Navy and Swiftships Shipbuilders, LLC, Morgan City, La., are supporting the Iraqi navy in the procurement and construction of the patrol boats. The boat is armed with a 30 millimeter gun weapon system, provides for a crew of 25 and is capable of reaching 30 knots.
The Support Ships, Boats and Craft Program Office in the U.S Navy’s PEO Ships, is managing the acquisition of the patrol boats as a foreign military sales case, with the final patrol boat planned for delivery later this year. In addition, the program office delivered two 60-meter offshore support vessels to the Iraqi Navy in December 2012.
PEO Ships currently manages the design and construction of all U.S. Navy destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, as well as a wide range of small boats and craft for U.S. agencies and allied nations.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, February 22, 2013