IMAGE COURTESY RIBCRAFT USARibcraft USA has entered the production phase of a five-year contract to provide rigid-hull inflatables for use on U.S. Navy ships.
Ribcraft will build as many as 278 7-meter (23-foot) RIBs under a contract worth approximately $80 million, the Marblehead, Mass.-based company said in a statement this week.
“We’re proud to continue our long, collective partnership with the U.S. Navy,” said Ribcraft president and CEO P. Brian Gray. “We are committed to delivering the most reliable, safe and exceptional boats to the dedicated men and women serving our country around the world.”
The RIBs will serve as “ready service lifeboats,” as well as for use in secondary missions, including anti-terrorism, force protection, search-and-rescue, vessel boarding search-and-seizure, and interdiction.
The RIBs must be carried aboard a variety of Navy ship classes, so Ribcraft will build three variants, including one for the Military Sealift Command that is the only U.S.-built boat certified under SOLAS standards, the statement said.
