VESSEL REVIEW | 086 & 088 – Fast coastal patrol boats for Royal Saudi Naval Forces

The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) recently commissioned two new fast coastal patrol boats into service.

Built by French shipyard Chantier Naval Couach, the two boats with hull numbers 086 and 088 are the second and third vessels in a class of 12 ordered by the Saudi government. Missions will include maritime security patrols, interdiction, anti-piracy, anti-smuggling, border protection, infrastructure protection, and force protection.

Each patrol boat has a length of 22.35 metres, a beam of 5.6 metres, a draught of just under 1.35 metres, accommodations for eight crewmembers, and hulls made from a proprietary composite material consisting of FRP, carbon fibre, and Kevlar. Two MTU diesel engines each rated 447 kW drive propellers to deliver a top speed of 30 knots. Thanks to their total fuel capacity of 7,000 litres, the vessels can sail for up to 520 nautical miles or stay out at sea for a maximum of five days when cruising at 28 knots.

The armament on each boat includes an aft launcher housing 12 K-LOGIR 70mm guided rockets, a 20mm autocannon at the bow, a 12.7mm machine gun at the stern, and two manually-operated 12.7mm machine guns mounted on pintles on the superstructure. The autocannon and the stern-mounted 12.7mm machine gun are fitted on remote weapon stations supplied by Dynateq International. The electronics suite meanwhile includes a Thales integrated communications setup and a Hensoldt Nexeya combat management system.

Couach is scheduled to complete deliveries of the entire 12-vessel class to Saudi Arabia before the end of this year.

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