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The Maritime Govt
[By: Damen]
In a ceremony held at Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth on twenty ninth July, the UK’s Royal Navy ‘NavyX’ innovation crew took supply of a modified Damen Quick Crew Provider (FCS) 4008. Named XV Patrick Blackett after a distinguished naval officer and scientist, the 42-metre, high-speed vessel could have a crew of 5 and will probably be used as a trials ship, supporting innovation and experimentation with novel applied sciences.
NavyX, the Royal Navy’s innovation, autonomy and lethality accelerator which has been established to quickly develop, check and trial cutting-edge gear, ran an open tender course of which resulted in an order being positioned with Damen Shipyards within the Netherlands earlier this 12 months for the supply of an FCS 4008.
The XV Patrick Blackett will probably be used as a platform for the evaluation of all kinds of apparatus. Its 140 sq. meters of deck house offers a big, unobstructed space for UAVs, AUVs and different innovative know-how. The intensive inner space that may usually have seating for as much as 100 personnel is being transformed into an operations centre and a gathering room. 4 caterpillar engines will give it a prime velocity of greater than 20 knots.
Different traits of the FCS 4008 which might be essential to NavyX embrace the steadiness and glorious seakeeping that comes with the Damen X-bow design , essential when deploying gear into the ocean or air. Damen can also be offering a complete, three-year assist bundle that may centre on the Service Hub that Damen arrange lately in Portsmouth and which has proved to be an enormous success. Regionally recruited personnel will preserve the vessel utilizing native content material the place doable and information will probably be transferred to make sure sustainability.
Her introduction into the fleet will allow NavyX to experiment with out the necessity to place calls for on Royal Navy warships and, sooner or later, she’s going to participate in Royal Navy and NATO workouts in addition to improve alternatives to work extra carefully with business and academia.
“That is the primary Damen vessel to be straight provided to the Royal Navy,” says Frederik van der Linde, Damen’s gross sales supervisor for the UK and Eire. “We’re very proud that they’ve Damen as their accomplice in such a particular undertaking. As a excessive tech, progressive vessel, the FCS 4008 will slot in very effectively with NavyX’s mission to push on the boundaries of what’s doable utilizing the very newest gear. We may also be supporting the crew of NaxyX intensively through our service hub in Portsmouth the place our R&D division will assist sure experiments. Damen is rather more than only a designer and builder of ships. This undertaking is an affidavit to how we prefer to crew up with our shoppers for the long run.”
Colonel Tom Ryall, Head of NavyX, stated: “The arrival of this vessel is a pivotal second for NavyX’s capability to ship output, and is a step change for the Royal Navy. She is going to give us higher flexibility to experiment with novel army capabilities, iterate and speed up new know-how, equipment and ideas for the good thing about each the Royal Navy and business.”
The services and products herein described on this press launch will not be endorsed by The Maritime Govt.
