Ambassador MK III Missile Boat
Encyclopedia
The Ambassador MK III Missile Boat is originally an American-designed patrol boat
Patrol boat
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuarine or river environments...
. It was chosen by the Egyptian Navy first as a patrol boat for their Coast Guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
Fleet, which already have several units and later as a platform for a large modern missile boat
Missile boat
A Missile Boat is a small craft armed with anti-ship missiles. Being a small craft, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming an inexpensive navy...
with a small radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
signature. The new boats would contain an update in design meant to make the vessels more resistant to radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
detection. Its design was conducted with the assistance of Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
.
Background
Since 1990s, the Egyptian Navy has been considering the procurement of a new Fast Attack Craft (FAC)Fast Attack Craft
Fast Attack Craft are small, fast, agile and offensive warships, that are armed with anti-ship missiles, guns or torpedoes. These are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the sea-keeping and all-round defensive capabilities to survive in blue water. The size of the vessel...
to begin replacing many of the ageing FAC currently in inventory, which dated since 1966.
Requirements
The Egyptian Navy has a requirement for a force of modern FAC to conduct independent and joint surveillance and strike operations against surface shipping and armed surface adversaries. Such operations are intended to insure the use of sea lines of communication by Egyptian forces, and deny the same use by potential adversaries. Mission contingencies require a FAC with anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfareAnti-Surface Warfare
Anti-surface warfare is a type of naval warfare directed against surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's surface ships....
, and electronic warfare
Electronic warfare
Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...
capabilities that will allow it to operate in a moderate to high threat environment. Signature reduction, high speed, and maneuverability are required for the FAC to conduct the anticipated pursuit, intercept, and engagement scenarios.
In addition, vessel that would be fully operational in conditions up to Sea State 4 and able to survive through Sea State 6. It would be of welded construction using materials consistent with specified structural strength, reduced maintenance, and weight requirements. Builders were to use superstructure materials that enhance signature reduction, reduced maintenance, and weight.
Furthermore, the FAC would be designed and constructed to provide a service life of at least twenty years with minimum maintenance and repair. This service life is predicated on an operational profile that has the FAC on patrol for eight days each month. The remainder of the time the FAC would be pier side in a reduced availability status. The expected propulsion plan operating hours per engine was 2400 hours per year. The ship’s notional maintenance cycle includes a maintenance availability and dry-docking every 24 months.
The Egyptian Navy would provide cryptographic, identification friend or foe
Identification friend or foe
In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe is an identification system designed for command and control. It is a system that enables military and national interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles, or forces as friendly and to determine their bearing and range from the...
, and fueling at sea equipment as Government Furnished Property. Wherever economically feasible, the FAC design was to incorporate automation and ship equipment performance monitoring technology to minimize crew requirements. The Egyptian Navy’s specifications call for a crew of 36, which is seen as the minimum needed to be able to operate the ship for up to eight hours at General Quarters (Condition I) and for up to eight days of sustained at-sea operations with weapons and sensors manned at Wartime Cruise (Condition III).
Additional weapon and sensor system requirements as identified in the solicitation:
- An integrated bridge system.
- External communications system.
- Tactical Data Links.
- A combined air/surface surveillance radar system capable of 3D-target designation, and electronic counter counter measures (ECCM) capable.
- Signaal’s Scout navigation radar system.
- A fire control system capable of using automatic acquisition and tracking, including passive track ability of targets, with extensive ECCM capability.
- A lightweight shipboard Electro-Optical system.
- Electronic Support Measures/Electronic Countermeasures suite (ESM/ECM) with 360-degree coverage.
- Four decoy launchers for 360-degree coverage.
- Eight BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
HarpoonHarpoonA harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...
surface-to-surface missiles.
- Point defense missile system comprising the Raytheon Mk 49 guided missile launching system for the Rolling Airframe Missile.
- RaytheonRaytheonRaytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
Mk 15 Mod 21 (Block IB) PhalanxPhalanx CIWSThe Phalanx CIWS is an anti-ship missile defense system. It is a close-in weapon system and was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division...
Close-in weapons system (CIWS).
- United DefenseUnited DefenseUnited Defense Industries was a United States defense contractor which is now part of BAE Systems Land and Armaments. This company produces combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers and precision munitions.-History:...
LP Mk 75 Dual-purpose 76mm/62 super rapid-fire gun (upgraded and overhauled).
- Two M60M60 machine gunThe M60 is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links...
general-purpose removable machine guns.
The Egyptian Navy received a number of unsolicited bids in 1999 including:
- Bollinger Shipyard offering a variant of the Cyclone class patrol boats. Reportedly their proposal envisioned building the first two units of the class at Bollinger’s facilities in Lockport, Louisiana, with follow-on units built in Egypt. All hull, mechanical, and electrical modules were to be designed and built by Bollinger. Bollinger’s proposal was estimated at USD 60M per hull, with HM& comprising 35% of the cost, and ship’s systems 65%.
- Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau offering the TarantulTarantul class corvetteThe Project 1241.1 Molniya are a class of Soviet missile corvettes. They have the NATO reporting name Tarantul...
(Project 1242.1) at USD 52M per unit, and were reportedly willing to go even lower. US Foreign Military Assistance will not fund the program as it falls under a Russian acquisition.
- Oregon Iron WorksOregon Iron WorksOregon Iron Works, Inc. is a United States-based manufacturer of complex structural components and systems and specialized vehicles, located in the Clackamas area in the southeastern suburbs of Portland, Oregon...
reportedly offered an updated version of the Peterson 511 (Saudi Arabian Al Siddiq class) fast attack craft.
In early 1999, the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command
Naval Sea Systems Command
The Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the U.S. Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel organizations...
(NAVSEA) determine the feasibility of meeting the Egyptian FAC requirements using a modified Cyclone
Cyclone class patrol ship
The Cyclone class patrol ships are a class of United States Navy coastal patrol boats. Most of these ships were launched between 1992 and 1994....
PC-14
USS Tornado (PC-14)
USS Tornado was the fourteenth and last Cyclone class patrol ship, notable for being the only ship in the class designed with shaping features for signature management. She was laid down by Bollinger Machine, Lockport, Louisiana 25 August 1998 and launched 7 June 1999...
design. The Egyptians had concerns with the use of the Cyclone class hull as the basis for their new FAC. The Cyclone hull design is based on the same Vosper Thornycroft design used by Egyptina Navy for their Ramadan class missile boat
Ramadan class missile boat
Ramadan class missile boat has been in service with the Egyptian Navy since 1981, commissioned from the UK:-Number of units:6 ships:* 670 Ramadan* 672 Khybar* 674 El Kadesseya* 676 El Yarmouk* 678 Badr* 680 Hetteen-Description:...
, yet the Cyclone design is heavier and lacks the weapons load-out found in the Ramadan. The Cyclone design, as it exists in the US Navy inventory, does not have sufficient weight margin to include a 76mm gun mount, Rolling Airframe Missile, Harpoon, and Phalanx
Phalanx
Phalanx, from Ancient Greek , may refer to:-Military:* Phalanx formation, in ancient Greek warfare* Phalanx CIWS, a U.S. Navy defense system to protect against an anti-ship missile-Politics:...
. The feasibility study conducted by the Carderock ultimately concluded that most of Egypt’s FAC requirements, as were specified, could be met within the modified Cyclone design, but there were some significant shortfalls. For example, to modify the Cyclone design to meet Egypt’s needs Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center recommended:
- Reducing the sea keeping requirements from 5 to 3 for full operations, and from 7 to 5 for restricted operations.
- Reducing the range radius from 1000 nm to a minimum acceptable range radius of 500 nm.
- Fitting two Super Barricade decoy launchers instead of four Mk-36 Super RBOC launchers.
- Either eliminating the Close-in-weapons System or reducing the number of Harpoons from eight to four (two twin-pack launchers instead of two quad-packs).
Based on these shortfalls, the modified Cyclone design, as proposed was dropped from future consideration. Additionally, the US Navy estimated that the cost of four modified Cylcone class FACs would be around USD 610.1M, which exceeded the Egyptian Navy’s budget.
Bids
On October 1999 the following US shipyards were probably included on the official bidder list:- Ingalls ShipbuildingIngalls ShipbuildingIngalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
. - Avondale Industries.
- Bollinger ShipyardsBollinger ShipyardsBollinger Shipyards is an American constructor of ships, workboats and patrol vessels.The firm was founded in 1946.Its thirteen shipyards and forty drydocks are located in Louisiana and Texas....
teamed with Vosper Thornycroft. - Halter Marine, offering the Ambassador Mk III design, and teamed with Lockheed MartinLockheed MartinLockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
. - Marinette MarineMarinette MarineMarinette Marine Corporation is a shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. MMC was a subsidiary of Manitowoc Marine Group, also in Wisconsin, but was sold to Fincantieri Marine Group in 2009...
, probably using a Singapore Technology variant of the LurssenLürssenLürssen is a German shipbuilding company based in Bremen-Vegesack.Lürssen designs and constructs yachts, naval ships and special vessels...
FPB-62 design. - Oregon Iron WorksOregon Iron WorksOregon Iron Works, Inc. is a United States-based manufacturer of complex structural components and systems and specialized vehicles, located in the Clackamas area in the southeastern suburbs of Portland, Oregon...
, possibly still offering an updated version of the Peterson 511 (Saudi Arabian Al Siddiq) class FAC. - Swiftships Inc., probably offering its Defiance class design.
- Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company.
By August 2000, the list was shortened to the final three shipyards (Halter Marine, Marinette Marine
Marinette Marine
Marinette Marine Corporation is a shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. MMC was a subsidiary of Manitowoc Marine Group, also in Wisconsin, but was sold to Fincantieri Marine Group in 2009...
, and Bollinger Shipyards
Bollinger Shipyards
Bollinger Shipyards is an American constructor of ships, workboats and patrol vessels.The firm was founded in 1946.Its thirteen shipyards and forty drydocks are located in Louisiana and Texas....
).
On 03 January 2001, Halter Marine announced that it had been selected by the Egyptian Navy to provide three Ambassador Mk III class fast attack craft. The program was valued at USD 406M (US$ 200M from FMA and USD 206M financed over five years), including construction, all weapons, integration, spare parts and technical services. Industry sources suggest that the program was under-bidded by as much as 33%, to assure a Halter Marine contract. Privately, the Egyptian Navy also expressed concern over the cheapness of the price quoted, and initially demanded a high-priced performance bond to guarantee the delivery, and assurances that there would be no cost overruns.
On 01 July 2001, the Egyptian Armament Authority approved the contract, and forwarded it to the Ministry of Defense for final approval before the end of 2001, with construction commencing in 2002. The first unit is scheduled to be delivered by 2005 followed by one unit per year valued at USD 101.5M each.
On 18 December 2009 according to the US Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) that the Egyptian Navy expanded the Ambassador III-class Fast Missile Craft (FMC) requirement from three vessels to four and increased the procurement budget to almost USD 1.3 billion.
Developments
A construction contract for the three FAC was expected to be completed by the end of 2004. Industry sources indicate that the program remained in limbo until January 2005 due to significant numbers of technical questions that were posed by all parties. These issues were apparently resolved at a meeting in Alexandria in January 2005.Phase I began in December 2005, when VT Halter Marine signed a USD 28.8M contract with the US Department of Defense to develop a functional design for a fast missile craft (FMC) for the Egyptian Navy. Under this phase, VT Halter Marine conducted analytical, design, engineering and model testing for the FMC. The effort included preparation for the integration of C4ISR as well as a combat system effectiveness study to validate the FMC system requirements. The first phase was completed in December 2006.
Phase II (following the successful completion of Phase I) began in September 2008 and is for the design and construction of the four new FAC (including option for the fourth unit). The total contract value is now estimated at USD 1.29B (including systems) for the four units. The four vessels will probably be complete by 2014. The US Naval Sea Systems Command
Naval Sea Systems Command
The Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the U.S. Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel organizations...
(NAVSEA) is managing the program.
In May 2010, Egyptian Navy was in discussions concerning the procurement of two additional units (five and six). These units could begin around 2014.