The Cedric class, formerly known as Arrow class, is a series of fast patrol/assault

speed boat A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...

s constructed by the Sri Lanka Navy for use by its littoral warfare units, the elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS) and the

Rapid Action Boat Squadron The Rapid Action Boat Squadron (RABS)(In Sinhalese: "ක්ෂණික ක්‍රියාකාරී යාත්‍රා බලඝණය" ''Ksanika Vihidum Yathra Balaghanaya'') is a force element squadron of the Sri Lanka Navy that provide ...

(RABS). The boat is capable of achieving high speeds and is highly maneuverable, meeting the requirements of these units in small boat operations. Armed with an

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...

or automatic grenade launcher as its primary weapon system and with multiple machine guns, the Arrow boats provides relatively high firepower despite its small size. It is also used by the navy for inshore monitoring operations.

History

The Arrow boat has been in service with the Sri Lanka Navy’s Special Boat Squadron since its development as part of the Inshore Patrol Craft Project. From mid 2008, it has also been issued to the newly created

. The Arrow boat was widely used by the Sri Lanka Navy against the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

’s Sea Tigers during the last phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War, known as the Eelam War IV. The 100th Arrow boat was launched by the Sri Lanka Navy on 11 September 2008. A ceremony was held at the navy base

SLNS Gemunu SLNS may refer to: * SLNS (Sri Lanka), Sri Lanka Navy equipment * Signed Logarithmic Number System, a type of logarithmic number system {{disamb ...

at Welisara to mark this event, presided over by the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. In 2016, the boat was renamed in honor of Cedric Martenstyn, the Co-founder of the SBS and the lead designer of the boat.

Development

Designed under Commander Cedric Martenstyn according to the requirements of its elite unit, the Special Boats Squadron for a fast and maneuverable boat with high firepower, the navy developed the first prototype of the Arrow in 1994 and the boats were first used in combat in 2006. The navy produces the Arrow at a unit cost of Rs. 1.7 million (US$17,000).

Design

The Arrow boat is powered by a single outboard motor. Another variant of the boat, fitted with two outboard motors has also been developed. The hull is made of strengthened fiberglass. The boat is 23.6 feet (7.2 m) long. No armour is provided, with the intention of keeping the boat light enough to meet the primary requirements of speed and maneuverability.

Armament

23 mm caliber 23 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. This ammunition size has not been widely used. Examples of armaments using it are: * 23x115mm caliber, used on many Soviet and Russian airplanes * 23x122mm * 23x139mmSR * 2 ...

is installed as the primary weapon of the Arrow boat, mounted in the bow. In some variants, this is replaced by an automatic

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mos ...

, secondary armament consists of several PKM

7.62 mm The 7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the imperial unit and customary unit equivalent, and was most commonly used for ...

machine guns mounted on each side of the boat.

Operators

* : Nine Arrow-class boats were exported to Nigeria in 2016 for the use of the Nigerian Navy in a deal worth USD 4.2 million. * *

References

{{Reflist

External links

Picture at Lanka Daily News
Ships of the Sri Lanka Navy Patrol boat classes Landing craft Military boats