Royal Navy: Advanced Vahana SEA-class boats all built - ships set to support HMS Prince of Wales and UK fleet

A seven-year programme valued at £48m has come to an end after starting in 2017. The Defence, Equipment & Support (DE&S) team at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) – which awarded the contract – said the boats will be used for diving, surveying, and training operations.

The Royal Navy added that the vessels will have mine warfare capabilities and passenger duties, which can include moving personnel from ship to shore on HMS Prince of Wales. Rosy Copping-Bull, project manager for DE&S boats team, said: “We are very pleased to have worked with AEUK to deliver these 35 Vahana workboats over the past seven years. These boats are an essential part of the Royal Navy's military operations thanks to their improved capability. All 35 vessels will be vital to the security of our nation and will be instrumental in helping it prosper now, and in the future.”

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Vahana boats are part of the SEA-class and have a hull which is interchangeable, allowing them to be adapted for different tasks. They have the ability to carry differing payloads and have improved speed, operational range and navigation equipment compared to the previous fleet. The first vessel to be constructed was HMS Magpie in 2018, with HMS Merlin and Fantome being the final boats to be built.

Royal Navy Commander Peter Ware, Fleet Navigating Officer, said: “The acquisition of Vahana craft has played an important step in the modernisation of a range of operational and enabling capabilities across the UK Defence maritime operating environment and will provide an important platform upon which we can continue to build towards further integration of autonomous systems and delivery of effect in remote environments.”

The new vessels will be replacing boats which were constructed in the 1990s and reached the end of their service. Around 60 jobs were sustained throughout the contract under Atlas Elektronik (AEUK). Wesley Galliver, AEUK head of surface ship systems division, said: “This significant milestone is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the whole team over the last seven years.

“We are immensely proud to have delivered a range of 35 SEA Class vessels including HMS Magpie, with interchangeable capability modules, allowing the Royal Navy to rapidly reconfigure them for different operational roles. Through this commonality, the training, spares and documentation burden for all systems has been significantly reduced.

“A further strength of the SEA Class range is that it is fully compatible with AEUK’s autonomy engine enabling an unmanned capability when the need arises in the future.” Pete Lagden, DE&S Boats team leader, added: “Having joined the team earlier in the year, I am very pleased to have seen the team work so well with AEUK to bring this programme together and successfully see the delivery of all 35 boats.”