Kuwaiti Navy in Mississippi
Saw this while poking around Gulfport harbor.
Its a Kuwaiti Navy patrol boat, minus its armament.
Why is a Kuwaiti patrol boat chilling in Mississippi? They are homeported in the Persian Gulf, not the Redneck Rivera.
United States Marine in Gulfport, MS received a $61.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for detail design and construction of 10 patrol boats for the Kuwaiti Navy under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Program a few years ago. The vessels are designed for coastal patrol and interdiction, and other special operations at sea.
if the boat looks familiar, it could be because USMI manufactures both 82-foot Mark V.1 Special Operations craft and a Mark V Patrol Boat. external link The Mark V Special Operations operations craft has a maximum speed of 47 knots and provides accommodations for 5 crew and 16 passengers. The Mark V Patrol Boat has a maximum speed of 45 knots, provides accommodations for 12 (10 crew and 2 officers), and has berthing accommodations, a galley, and mess.
Built for the Kuwait Ministry of Defense and Kuwait Naval Forces, the primary mission of the Kuwaiti MKV is to conduct coastal patrol, surveillance and interdiction missions. Each 28 meter craft will carry two .50 Caliber machine guns and one MLG 27 weapon system (Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH 27mm gun). These high-speed, agile boats will reach speeds of greater than 45 knots, provide berthing for a crew of up to 12 sailors, and will be able to operate two days independently at sea.
You have to admit, it looks fast and has that new patrol boat smell…