Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:52:20-1:52:47

A future fast attack craft might be unmanned

The Royal Navy could eventually need a small, fast, heavily armed craft, but funding and crewing pressures point toward an unmanned design.

Coastal ForcesFast Attack CraftMotor Torpedo BoatsNaval ProcurementUncrewed Systems
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Question

Is there a procurement gap for a small, fast, heavily armed attack craft?

Short answer

Possibly in the longer term, probably as an unmanned craft, but it was unlikely to receive near-term funding.

Notes

A long-term requirement may emerge for a modern counterpart to the motor torpedo boat or motor gun boat. Such a vessel was expected to be unmanned and roughly comparable in scale to Gibraltar's small patrol craft. The immediate obstacle was procurement priority rather than an absence of possible missions. In 2020, near-term Royal Navy funding appeared unlikely.