VESSEL REVIEW | P-1011, P-1012 & P-1013 – Iraqi Navy patrol boats for attack and special operations support missions

ARES Shipyard in Turkey and South Korean counterpart ENM have handed over three new fast patrol boats in a series to the Iraqi Ministry of Defence for operation by the Iraqi Navy.

Designed by naval architecture firm BMT, the aluminium-hulled P-1011, P-1012, and P-1013 will be capable of patrol, surveillance, insertion and extraction of special operations forces, infrastructure protection, asymmetrical warfare, territorial water control, and coordinated joint operations.

Armament selection optimised for countering asymmetrical threats

Each boat measures 19.1 metres (62.7 feet) long and 4.8 metres (16 feet) wide and is armed with an Aselsan remote controlled stabilised weapons mount housing a 12.7mm machine gun in addition to two pintle-mounted 7.62mm general-purpose machine guns (GPMGs).

The remote controlled mount is installed above and behind the wheelhouse, thus ensuring a full 360 degrees of automatic weapons coverage for each boat, while the 7.62mm GPMGs are fitted one each on port and starboard.

Built for littoral environments

A draught of only one metre (3.3 feet) permits operation in near-shore areas while anti-ballistic panels are fitted around the wheelhouse to provide protection for the crew from small arms fire at close range.

The electronics suite on each vessel meanwhile includes communications equipment, an X-band radar, and an electro-optical sensor.

Power for each boat is provided by two 1,650hp (1,230kW) diesel engines driving waterjets. This configuration delivers a maximum speed of 30 knots. Space is also available for up to 12 special operations troops along with their equipment as well as a rigid inflatable boat.

The Iraqi Navy currently operates the new patrol boats near the port of Umm Qasr on Iraq’s Persian Gulf coast.