Ukraine to receive two new patrol boats from United States
Ukraine will receive two new Mark VI patrol boats from the United States, according to the Army Inform agency of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, citing Pentagon data.
According to the Pentagon's official website, the construction of the first batch of ships will be finished by December 2022.
The boats will be constructed by SAFE Boats International LLC (Bremerton, Washington). The construction will cost nearly $20 million.
The customer from the United States is the Command of Naval Systems, and the funding is carried out under the program to strengthen the defense of Ukraine, according to Army Inform.
The United States approved the 2021 defense budget, where $250 million was provided for Ukraine in military support.
In the summer of 2020, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the United States had approved the sale of up to 16 Mark VI patrol boats and related equipment to Ukraine. Six boats are already being prepared for Ukraine as part of the U.S. security assistance. The rest of Ukraine will be able to purchase from the United States at the expense of the defense budget.
The Ukrainian government has requested the purchase of up to 16 Mark VI patrol boats; some 32 MSI Seahawk A2 guns; 20 electro-optical infrared radars (FLIR) (16 installed and four spare parts); some 16 Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD) with a five-kilometer speaker system; some 16 identification systems "friend or foe" (IFF); some 40 MK44 cannons (32 installed and eight spare parts); communication equipment; auxiliary equipment; spare and repair parts; tools and test equipment; technical data and documentation; personnel training and equipment for personnel training; engineering, technical and logistics services and contractor of the U.S. government; and other related elements of logistics support. Estimated total cost is $600 million.
In addition, Ukraine signed a contract with the Ocean French company for the construction of border patrol boats for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which will strengthen the system of maritime security and border protection of the state.
