BAE Systems awarded £13.5m to build PAC 24s for Royal Navy

The Pacific 24 Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs), which are being built under a £13.5m contract, are designed to be deployed from ship or shore for anti-piracy or drugs missions, or to perform rescue operations.

But travelling at speeds of up to 44 miles per hour can put a huge physical strain on the driver and crew of these boats. So the new fleet of RIBs are being fitted with shock absorbing seats, in a bid to minimise the impact of high energy operations on crew members and to allow them to travel up to six-times further.

To incorporate these new, heavier, seats, BAE Systems had to make considerable weight savings elsewhere on the boats, according to Ben Mason, project manager for the P24 RIB. “We managed to save about 150kg, which on a 2000kg boat is pretty significant,” said Mason.

To make the savings, the boats are being fitted with a new, lightweight 370HP twin turbo diesel electronic engine. “Since the engine is electronic, it means a lot of the heavy mechanical components have been removed,” he said.