One of last week’s more interesting DOD contracts:
Silver Ships Inc.,* Theodore, Alabama, is awarded a $7,814,630 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-23-F-2201 for the acquisition of 49 additional High-Speed Maneuvering Surface Target (HSMST) craft and accessories, 12 service manuals, 6 spare engines, and 38 sets of deployment spares. Work will be performed in Theodore, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by March 2025. The fiscal 2023 appropriation account for other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,016,330 (51%); and the fiscal 2022 appropriation account for other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,798,300 (49%), will be obligated at time of award; none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
The HSMST is a remotely operated target drone based on Metal Shark’s 26-foot AM800 fire boat.
While the DOD release mentions just 49 hulls, a presser from Silverships details that there are options for 246 HSMSTs that would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $48.25 milly.
The 27-foot custom-built AM800 target boats feature a 9-foot 8-inch beam and include an air or foam collar depending on the boat variant. Each AM800 will be outfitted with a specialized compartment designed for installing remote control systems and electronics. These target boats are fully operational and built to the Navy’s specifications and payload requirements depending on the boat’s specific mission. Vessels can be operated by a one or two-person crew for training purposes but are remotely operated during live-fire training.
Most of the 246 HSMSTs ordered will be powered by twin Suzuki 225HP outboards. The remaining boats included in this contract will be powered by Mercury Diesel Spark Ignition outboards to fulfill Navy fueling requirements. HSMSTs are designed with several uncommon design elements specific to their unique mission, for example, an above-deck fuel tank allowing operators to replace tanks quickly and easily.
The company had previously been awarded a contract in 2013 for 350 HSMSTs to be delivered by 2017. A lot of them wind up getting zapped.
180502-N-EN275-1040. ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 2, 2018) A close-in weapons system (CIWS) 20mm radar-guided Gatling gun aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) disables a remote-controlled high-speed maneuvering seaborne target (HSMST) during Combat Systems Ship Qualification Trials (CSSQT). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jacob Smith/Released)
I’d also like to point out that the HSMST is very relevant in the age of Ukrainian drone attack boats.
For reference, via the recent swarm attack of six such boats against the Russian spy ship Priazovye.
Via Russian MOD.
