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 ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

for use by its

littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...

warfare units, the elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS) and the Rapid Action Boat Squadron (RABS). The boat is capable of achieving high speeds and is highly maneuverable, meeting the requirements of these units in

small boat operations Small boat operations in military and naval warfare refers to operations in and around the littoral zone, within a certain distance of shore, carried out by small but fast and highly maneuverable craft. In recent years small unmanned systems have ...

. 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 ...

automatic grenade launcher An automatic grenade launcher (AGL) or grenade machine gun is a grenade launcher that is capable of fully automatic fire, and is typically loaded with either an ammunition belt or magazine. These weapons are often mounted on vehicles or helicopte ...

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 ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

’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 Rapid Action Boat Squadron. 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 The Sea Tigers (Tamil: கடற்புலிகள் ''Kaţaṛpulikaḷ'') was the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was founded in 1984. The Sea Tigers had a number of small but effectiv ...

during the last phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War, known as the

Eelam War IV Eelam War IV is the name given to the fourth phase of armed conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Renewed hostilities began on the 26 July 2006, when Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets ...

. 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 at Welisara to mark this event, presided over by the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence,

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan military ...

. 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 Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

. 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

A 23 mm caliber

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 The Nigerian Navy (NN) is a branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is among the largest navies on the African continent, consisting of several thousand personnel, including those of the Coast Guard. History The Nigerian Navy owes its origin to ...

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