Royal Navy welcomes the delivery of a new boat which could be used by HMS Queen Elizabeth
The MoD has taken delivery of the 60th high-speed Pacific 24 MKIV Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB).
The vessel has been built by BAE Systems at its production line inside Portsmouth Naval Base.
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Hide AdIt was due to be the last of a £13.5m order to supply 60 such craft to the Royal Navy for use across the fleet.
However, the small, versatile vessels have proven their so effective in service that the MoD has ordered an additional four RIB.
‘They do everything they should do and the Royal Navy users are very happy with them,’ said Sam Phelps, of government agency Defence Equipment and Support.
They’re already in service on board aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and one of the RIBs was recently filmed being used to help Royal Marines board a ship during a drugs bust by Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dragon.
Highly manoeuvrable, the state-of-the-art RIBs can be deployed from ship or shore and have speeds of up to 38 knots (44 miles per hour).