ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has awarded a contract to a Bremerton, Washington-based boat builder to begin work on Mark VI patrol boats for Ukraine.
The Naval Sea Systems on Dec. 31 awarded SAFE Boats International LLC a “$19,969,119 not-to-exceed, firm-fixed-price, un-definitized contract action for long-lead-time material and associated pre-production and planning support for two Mk VI patrol boats to be delivered to the government of Ukraine,” the Defense Department said in a Jan. 5 contract announcement. The funding is allocated under the Fiscal 2020 Title 10 Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
The U.S. State Department approved the possible foreign military sale of up to 16 Mk VI patrol boats and related equipment to Ukraine for an estimated cost of $600 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a June 17 release.
The patrol boats will be operated by the Ukrainian navy to defend territorial waters and other maritime interests. They each will be armed with two MSI Seahawk A2 gun systems and two Mk44 cannons and equipped with electro-optical/infrared sensors and loud-speaker systems.
The sale will “improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a modern, fast, short-range vessel,” the DSCA said.
Mk VI patrol boats are used by the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command for escort of high-value ships, coastal patrol, and other maritime security missions.
Work on the contract is expected to be completed by December 2022.
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