Finnish RHIBs for Australian OPVs
Finland’s Boomeranger Boats has received a contract from the Australian Department of Defence to supply Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) for the SEA 1180 Phase 1 Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) programme.
The company will deliver two davit launched 8.5 metre Fast Rescue Boats and one 10.5 metre ramp-launched Special Operations Boat for each of the Royal Australian Navy’s Arafura class OPVs – 41 RHIBs in total.
The RHIBs have inboard engines, and will be capable of undertaking a range of missions including maritime patrol and response.
Both of the RHIB models are existing designs from earlier projects delivered by Boomeranger. The 10.5 metre sea boat is an enhanced variant of the ramp-launched RHIB of the original Luerssen OPV delivered to the Royal Brunei Navy.
The RHIBs will be delivered over a period of ten years. The first delivery will arrive to support acceptance of the first OPV in 2021.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Eurosatory 2026: Red Cat eyes South American market for USV-led EEZ surveillance]()
Eurosatory 2026: Red Cat eyes South American market for USV-led EEZ surveillance
Success with the US Army’s Black Widow programme may have strengthened Red Cat’s international position, but executives believe the next growth opportunity lies in uncrewed surface vessels.
-
![US weighs offshore warship production due to industrial limits]()
US weighs offshore warship production due to industrial limits
A Pentagon push to procure warships from Japanese and South Korean shipyards could reshape allied naval industrial strategy, but critics warn the approach risks hollowing out the domestic base Washington is seeking to restore.
-
![Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA]()
Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA
The accelerated delivery of the final Flight IIA destroyer, USS Patrick Gallagher, showcases the payoff of years of workforce investment and process reform at Bath Iron Works, with the lessons feeding into Flight III production.
-
![Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development]()
Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development
Ukraine’s battlefield has rewritten the rules of uncrewed systems development. For Syos Aerospace, real-time operator feedback, lean serial production and a system-of-systems philosophy are central to its operating model.
