A Look inside U.S. Navy Mark VI Patrol Boat Provides Advanced Capability in Action

The Mark VI is a class of patrol boat in service with the United States Navy, designed to patrol riverine and littoral waters. The first Mark VI boats were delivered to the Navy in September 2015, and the boat was deployed to Bahrain in April 2016.

The Mark VI patrol boat is built by SAFE Boats International and is the first patrol boat delivered to the U.S. Navy since the 1980s. 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 conventional brown water Navy legacy craft, the Mark VI is larger, more survivable, and better equipped with modernized weapons, communications, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. Despite the name the craft is not a replacement for the MK V SOC which was operated by Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen from 1998-2012 in a Special Operations role. 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; the U.S. Navy may purchase up to 48 Mark VI boats. Potential customers from the Middle East and Central and South America have also made inquiries about the vessel.

Coastal Riverine Group 2 took ownership of the first two of Mark VI patrol boats on 8 September 2015. Two were first deployed to the Persian Gulf to support U.S. 5th Fleet operations out of Bahrain in April 2016, with four total to be allocated to the 5th Fleet.

Design
The Mark VI is 84.8 ft (25.8 m) long, significantly longer than previous classes of Navy patrol boats. It has a crew of 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 seats and sound deadening berthing spaces and galley allow the crew to operate in high sea states in comfort. The boats are fully networked with a command, control, communication and computing, surveillance and intelligence (C4SI) suite for enhanced situational awareness, survivability, and multi-mission support; which includes flat screen monitors mounted throughout the ship, including at the seats for commandos. Payloads can be configured to fulfill missions ranging from mine hunting to defending against swarm boat attacks.

Standard armament consists of two remote-controlled Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm chain guns and six crewed M2 .50 caliber machine guns. Depending on mission needs, gun mounts can hold M240 machine guns, M134 miniguns, and Mk 19 grenade launchers. The Mark VI is equipped with the MK50 Gun Weapon System (GWS), 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.[8] It is also planned to mount guided missiles such as the BGM-176B Griffin. Armor plating, able to withstand small-arms fire, is around key elements such as the engines and fuel tank.

The aluminum-hulled Mark VI is powered by two MTU 16V2000M94 diesel engines connected to water jets that propel it faster than 35 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h), with a maximum range of 600 nmi (690 mi; 1,100 km). The reconfigurable main aft cabin can hold payloads such as Navy SEAL operators or a medical facility. The rear deck and stern is able to launch and recover small boats, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs). Mark VI boats are able to be transported and deployed by larger Navy ships such as landing helicopter docks, amphibious transport docks, and landing ship docks enabling them to be carried and deployed anywhere in the world. Each Mark VI costs $15 million.

Mark VI patrol boat pilot house
Coastal Command Boat variant
The Coastal Command Boat (CCB) is a 'one-off' prototype of the Mk VI, delivered to the Navy in 2013. At 65 feet (20 m) long, it is somewhat smaller than the Mark VI. Its engine, armament, and other systems are otherwise identical to that of the Mark VI, though its smaller size gives it an endurance of over 24 hours at cruise speed. It was deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain in February 2014 to evaluate tactics and techniques for using the Mark VI in advance of the latter's deployment in 2015. It is assigned to Commander Task Group 56.7 of Commander Task Force 56.

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