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from which CB-Ls will deploy. A $43 million U.S. Navy contract awarded in March for 45 8-meter Force Protec- tion Small, and 20 12-meter Force Protection, Large patrol boats also promises to keep MetalCraft busy.

MetalCraft supplied the Coast Guard with the second- generation Long Range Interceptor (LRI-II) for deployment aboard National Security Cutters from 2012 through 2018.

The Coast Guard has begun acquisition of a third generation

LRI-III as LRI-II approaches end of service life. Pre-solicita- tion documents issued June 2021 through this past March cite concerns including favorable ventilation characteristics not reliant on HVAC, mitigation of water intrusion to hull and systems, and enhanced system resilience in high latitudes.

A Request for Proposals (RFP) is expected to be issued around

May 2022, with a single ? ve-year IDIQ contract intended.

Among awe-inspiring developments in our industry are autonomous vessels (AVs). In April 2021, Leidos Holdings delivered the 132-foot, 145-ton high performance autono- mous Seahawk trimaran to the Navy under a $35.5 million contract awarded by the Of? ce of Naval Research (ONS) in 2017. Seahawk provides the Navy with a high-capabil- ity, high-availability, rapid-response global maritime sur- veillance resource. Along with Metal Shark’s ongoing work with the U.S. Marines’ Long-Range Unmanned Surface

Vessel (LRUSV), we can surely expect to see more AVs in the combat and patrol arena.

Boston- based Sea Machines Robotics announced March 14 that its SM200 and SM300 AV control systems were granted type approval by Bureau Veritas (BV). The SM300 has been employed aboard a 29-foot Metal Shark De? ant in use by the U.S. Coast Guard since late 2020 on which

Sea Machines and Metal Shark collaborated. The American

Bureau of Shipping (ABS) is likewise working closely with industry stakeholders in developing and risk management of AV design and operation. Such activity will further facili- tate AV infusion into combat and patrol craft.

The world of combat and patrol craft has advanced ex- ponentially since MACC ’07 and promises to continue doing so. From new generation amphibious vessels to the globally capable Mk VI and Coast Guard cutter boats, 162,000 members from legacy cutters in Ukraine to cutting-edge AVs, change remains the enduring constant. Engineers, naval architects and builders are meeting the pressing needs of combat and patrol boat customers, and the results are evident.