THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW HIGH PAYLOAD MULTI-FUNCTIONAL RIB, THE HALMATIC PACIFIC 950

摘要

The design of modern military small craft requires high levels of operational capability and this is particularly the case when designing for any Special Forces application. Complex functionality must be integrated together on comparatively small platforms and requirements often compete directly in areas such as space, performance and cost. As such innovative engineering solutions must be applied. This paper describes the development, construction and trial of a new 9.5m RIB, the Halmatic Pacific 950. The Halmatic Pacific 950 hull form was specifically generated to provide a compact platform to enable large military payloads to be transported at high speeds in extreme sea states. However the vessel also reflects a contrasting ability to carry out increasingly critical slower speed marine counter-terrorism boarding operations. The vessel concept has been developed expressly to provide multiple roles with rapid reconfiguration of mission specific equipment, challenging conventional layout arrangements. Areas such as advanced electronics, multiple weapons systems and air drop functionality have been combined in a climate of rigorous weight control to produce a highly capable and advanced design. Although initially developed as a military vessel, many issues addressed on the Halmatic Pacific 950 are directly applicable to most commercial applications: for instance the ability to carry payload at speed together with the importance of design for availability, reliability and maintenance.