This article is more than 1 year old
UK spends £36m on 18 little 'bullet-proof' boats to protect Royal Navy assets
Like the massive ships with miniguns
The UK is to splash £36m on 18 new vessels to help protect Royal Navy bases around Britain and Gibraltar.
The contract – awarded to Liverpool-based boatbuilders Marine Specialised Technology, who seemed comfortable with being named as part of the deal – will help protect 50 jobs and create a further 15 posts.
For the flotilla of Register readers who take an interest in such things, the 15-metre craft will be able to carry three crew and up to four passengers while cruising at up to 30 knots.
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"They will be fitted with a CCTV surveillance system, two Marine Jet Power waterjets and reinforced with bullet-proof protection against incoming fire," the government said in a statement issued today.
They can also be used in all weather, which is handy.
The first police patrol craft is expected to be delivered a year from now – which gives the crew plenty of time to practise chaperoning the replacement HMY Britannia. ®
Biting the hand that feeds IT
