US Navy places small boat order worth up to $290 million
Metal Shark Defiant patrol boat has been in service with the US Navy and has been exported to Ukraine. (Photo: Metal Shark)
The Metal Shark 40 Defiant, a 40-foot, welded-aluminium pilothouse monohull patrol boat, features ballistic protection and can be armed with a range of remotely operated and crew-served weapons systems. The ReconCraft 40ft patrol boat is similar and offers waterjet, outboard and inboard/outboard propulsion.
Gravois Aluminium Boats will supply up to 73 small patrol boats to Naval Expeditionary Combat Command under a indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract that could be worth up to US$290 million over seven years.
The boats will be built by Garvis subsidiaries Metal Shark and ReconCraft with the former awarded awarded a $6.5 initial order and the latter $7.7 million.
The orders under the initial contract are expected to be completed by the end of next year with ReconCraft’s boats funded from National Guard and Reserve Equipment Appropriations and Metal Shark boats from the US Navy.
This contract was competitively procured via the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment with four offers received with US Navy Naval Sea Systems Command as contracting activity.
In 2023, ReconCraft was awarded contract worth almost $36 million to supply the US Navy with 12 40-ft patrol boats with work on the boats running through September 2025.
Metal Shark was awarded a initial order in 2017 from the US Navy for 11 PB(X) which was for the Defiant 40. Under the terms of the award, potentially worth more than $90 million, Metal Shark will build up to 50 PB(X) vessels for the navy, along with trailers, spares, training packages and technical support.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Next Generation Patrol Boat - PB40 (USA)
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![As Indonesia doubles up its order, who else is looking at the Arrowhead 140 frigate design?]()
As Indonesia doubles up its order, who else is looking at the Arrowhead 140 frigate design?
The adaptable design of Babcock’s Arrowhead 140 frigate, already selected by the UK Royal Navy and Poland, has led to more orders from Indonesia while other countries continue to weigh it up.
-
![Does the increase in US firepower in the Middle East indicate another Iran strike?]()
Does the increase in US firepower in the Middle East indicate another Iran strike?
The presence of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the Persian Gulf means additional naval and aerial capabilities, which provides the US with multiple attacking options.
-
![US Navy to invest more than $700 million in laser-related R&D efforts in FY2026]()
US Navy to invest more than $700 million in laser-related R&D efforts in FY2026
The US Navy’s acceleration of its laser weapon development initiatives reflects a decisive shift towards ultimately having a “laser on every ship” across tomorrow’s surface fleet.
