The Mark VI Mark VI Patrol Boat is a class of patrol boat in service with the United States
Navy, which is designed to patrol riverine and littoral waters. The primary mission of Mark VI
is Mark VI Patrol Boat to provide capability to persistently patrol littoral areas beyond
sheltered harbors and bays for the purpose of force protection of friendly and coalition forces
and critical infrastructure. These missions include security force assistance, high value unit
shipping escort, visit, board, search, and seizure operations, and theater security cooperation.
Talking about its history, the Mark VI patrol boat is developed by SAFE Boats International.
It represents a shift in Navy focus from Cold War-era blue water engagements to placing
importance on brown water littoral zone operations.
Designed to replace the legacy Riverine Command Boat for open water and near shore operations, the
Mark VI Patrol Boat is larger, more survivable, and better equipped with advanced weapons,
communications, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.
The craft can perform missions including patrolling shallow areas, search-and-seizure
operations, escort high-value shipping and fleet units in foreign ports, and support special
operations forces. Safe Boats delivered the first of 12 Mark VI craft to the Navy in August 2014.
Additionally, Coastal Riverine Group 2 took
ownership of the first two of Mark VI patrol boats on September 8th,
2015. Two were first deployed to the Persian Gulf to support U.S. 5th Fleet operations out
of Bahrain in April 2016, with three total on station in the 5th Fleet as of 2018.
Despite initial plans to acquire 48 Mark VI boats, only 12 were ordered in 2015 and delivered by 2017
with none purchased afterwards. In early 2021, the U.S. Navy signalled its intention
to divest them by the end of the year. The decision was made as a cost saving measure,
as the boats were not extensively used, suffered from reliability problems, and were considered too
expensive to maintain. The Navy however rescinded the plan in May 2021 pending budget decisions.
As part of American efforts to help rebuild Ukraine's naval capabilities
after the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the U.S. State Department
approved a Foreign Military Sales case for the supply of up to 16 MK VI patrol boats
and associated equipment to Ukraine in June 2020. 12 boats out of the 16 approved for
sale has been ordered as of January 2022 and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
has said that deliveries of the Mark VI patrol boats to Ukraine begins in 2022.
Talking about the design, the Mark VI has 25.8 meter long,
significantly longer than previous classes of Navy patrol boats.
This boat has the ability to accommodate 10 sailors and can carry 8 additional personnel.
The interior is spacious, with berthing for the crew and shock-absorbing seats for other
occupants. The boats are fully networked with a command, control, communication and computing,
surveillance and intelligence suite for enhanced situational awareness, survivability, and
multi-mission support which includes flat screen monitors mounted throughout the ship. Payloads can
be configured to fulfil missions ranging from mine hunting to defending against swarm boat attacks.
In regard to the armament, this boat consists of two remote-controlled Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm
chain guns and six crewed M2 .50 caliber machine guns. It is also equipped with the
MK50 Gun Weapon System, a shipboard version of the vehicle-mounted M153
CROWS remote turret that enables crewmen to use its camera and gun from the operator's
station below deck. In addition, an advanced lightweight armor plating is
installed around key elements such as the crew compartment, engines and fuel tanks.
The aluminum-hulled Mark VI is generated by two MTU 16V2000M94 diesel engines
connected to water jets that propel it faster than 65 km/h, with a maximum range of 1,100 km.
The rear deck and stern is able to launch and recover small boats,
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs). The craft's mast
lowers to decrease overall height, allowing the craft to enter amphibious ship well decks.
Mark VI can be transported and deployed by Navy amphibious ships
such as landing helicopter docks, amphibious transport docks, and landing ship docks.
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