The M80 Stiletto is a prototype naval ship manufactured by the M Ship Company as an operational experiment for the Pentagon’s Office of Force Transformation. It is an example of the next generation of military vessels that combines new materials (carbon fiber) with a networked architecture and a breakthrough hull design.
The M80 Stiletto is now under the command of the Department of Defense and has participated in Trident Warrior joint-force exercises as well as tests conducted by the U.S. Navy SEALs off the California coast.
Although not intended to become operational, the Stiletto was deployed to Colombia to help fight the U.S. war on drugs and made a high-speed, shallow-water drug interdiction that resulted in the capture of 1,800 lbs. of cocaine.
The Stiletto is a radical new hull platform that was developed for high-speed military missions in the shallow water areas of the littoral, near-shore waters in support of USN (ret) Vice Admiral Arthur Cebrowski’s vision of a “brown-water navy” for expeditionary combat in the 21st century. No other hull compares to its speed, ride quality, payload capability and unmanned vehicle support.
The Stiletto, a twin M-hull vessel, is 88 ft in length with a 40 ft beam, providing a rectangular deck area equivalent to a conventional displacement craft 160 ft in length. The vessel´s draft fully loaded is 3 feet and is designed for a speed of 50-60 knots.
Its superior performance is based on M Ship Co.´s proprietary, globally patented M-hull technology, recapturing the bow wave and using its energy to create an air cushion for more efficient planing. This is critical for the Navy SEALS and other Special Operations Forces, because it reduces the G-forces and related injuries these personnel are subjected to during training and on missions.
M Ship Co. designed and constructed the vessel, which is made solely of carbon fiber for reduced weight and increased stiffness, the largest vessel ever built in the U.S. of this advanced material. It was delivered to the Office of Force Transformation to establish scalability of the M-hull technology.
The M80 Stiletto and similar designs may be purchased by government and military agencies from M Ship Co. under a no-bid, sole-source acquisition contract. (www.mshipco.com)
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