Ghannatha

The Ghannatha-class of fast patrol boats, also referred to as fast troop carriers, have been built for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navy through a contract awarded in 2002 to Abu Dhabi ShipBuilding (ADSB) and Swede Ship Marine. Swede Ship provided the basic design, developed originally for the Swedish Navy, and built three of the Ghannatha-class boats. The first boat was commissioned in early 2003 and the remaining 11-ships were delivered in the following 18-month. These ships feature a waterjet propulsion system, aluminum-made hull, high maneuverability at all speeds and are capable of operations at very shallow waters. Their main purpose is to deploy troops directly onto a beachhead via a hydraulically operated bow ramp. Nevertheless, they can serve as a command, control and communication center; patrol; surveillance; interception; and anti-surface warfare operations in territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The propulsion system comprises two MTU 12V 2000 M90 main engines developing 992 kW, two ZF BU 1900 reduction gears and two Rolls Royce FF550 water jets. The boats can be armed with a 12.7mm machine gun and mines. In late February 2009, UAE awarded a series of contracts aimed at the upgrading of the existing vessels and delivery of a further 12 Ghannatha fast troop carriers. The upgraded version will feature a new command and control (C2) system supplied by SELEX Sistemi Integrati and Abu Dhabi System Integration (ADSI), a stretched hull, surface-to-surface guided missiles, more powerful MTU engines and at least boats will be equipped with Patria Nemo 120mm mortar system. Swede Ship will build three of these upgrade vessels with ADSB taking responsibility for the remaining nine boats. The UAE Navy will take delivery of the first enhanced Ghannatha vessel by 2011.

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