Germany is set to award Marine Alutech a contract for up to 15 Watercat M18 AMC combat boats to equip the German Navy’s Sea Battalion.
Waldemar Geiger / Hartpunkt
The procurement project to equip the German Navy’s Sea Battalion with multi-purpose combat boats is approaching a major milestone.
According to information obtained by hartpunkt, the contract for the delivery of up to 15 such Watercat M18 AMC combat boats is expected to be awarded to the Finnish boatbuilder Marine Alutech. The system apparently prevailed in the competition against the CB90 design from the Swedish defense company Saab.
According to previous statements from the Ministry of Defence, the combat boats are intended to ensure the tactical mobility of the Sea Battalion across a wide range of missions and will be used for amphibious, military evacuation, escort, patrol and harbor protection operations.
The German Armed Forces reportedly plan to procure ten boats in a first phase and to order five more systems in the near future. Well-informed sources expect the first boats to enter service starting in 2029. Until then, the systems must undergo qualification procedures within the German Armed Forces.
The German Navy has been waiting for some time for the project to be realized, the analysis phase of which began in July 2017. However, the competitive bidding process for the procurement of 15 off-the-shelf multi-purpose boats, which are “already in service with another navy – ideally a navy of a NATO member or partner state,” was only opened in June 2023, after the possibility of financing the project from the Bundeswehr’s special fund was created in September 2022.
The Watercat M18 is a multi-purpose combat boat approximately 20 meters long with a displacement of 32 tons. The Finnish armed forces operate 12 of these systems, designated Jehu-class. Two 660 kW Scania diesel engines propel the boat to a top speed of 45 knots. Its range is approximately 200 nautical miles (370 km). The Finnish armed forces crew consists of six sailors, and the boat can also accommodate up to 25 fully equipped marines in its fighting compartment, transporting them to the shore for operations such as combat landings.
This article was originally published in German language at hartpunkt.de. It has been translated and republished with authorization.
