M80 Stiletto

The M80 Stiletto is a prototype naval ship manufactured by the M Ship Company as an operational experiment for The Pentagon’s Office of Force Transformation. It is notable for its Pentamaran hull design and carbon fiber construction, as well as its networked architecture.

The M80 Stiletto is a U.S. Navy vessel designed for combat in littoral (near shore) waters built by M Ship Co. It take the name from italian Stiletto the short knife or dagger. The 88-foot (27 m) long vessel has a notable hull design, an M-shaped hull that provides a stable yet fast platform for mounting electronic surveillance equipment or weapons, or for conducting special operations. 

The hull design does not require foils or lifting devices to achieve a smooth ride at high speeds in rough conditions. Its shallow draft means the M80 Stiletto can operate in littoral and riverine environments and potentially allows for beach landings.

The M80 Stiletto is equipped with four Caterpillar, Inc. C32 1232 kW (1652 HP) engines yielding a top speed in excess of 50 knots (90 km/h) and a range of 500 nautical miles (900 km) when fully loaded. It can be outfitted with jet drives for shallow water operations and beaching.
It has a topside flight deck for launching and retrieving UAVs and a rear ramp that can launch and recover an 11-meter rigid-hull inflatable boat (RIB) or Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV).

It weighs 45 tons unloaded, light enough that it can be hoisted onto a cargo ship, while still able to carry up to 20 tons of cargo in the Template:Convert/sttqft of usable interior space. The ship is 88.6 feet (27.0 m) in length, with a width of 40 feet (12 m) and a height of 18.5 feet (5.6 m), yet has a draft of only 2.5 feet (0.8 m).

The M80 Stiletto is the largest U.S. naval vessel built using carbon-fiber composite and epoxy building techniques, which yields a very light but strong hull. The prototype M80 Stiletto is expected to be in use in less than one year. Ships are expected to cost between $6 and $10 million.

Rear view of M80 Stiletto during a training of the Navy SEALs, 2006. Historically, ships have evolved to become narrower and deeper to achieve speed and stability. The M Hull however become wider, because its distinctively wide hull captures the vessel’s bow wave and redirects the energy under the hull. The Stiletto’s double-M hull enables the craft to achieve an unequaled ride in rough seas at high speed, which is critical for the Navy SEALS and other Special Operations Forces, because it reduces the G-forces and related injuries these personnel are subjected to during training and on missions.

The Stiletto is being tested by the United States Navy SEALs and Special Warfare Combat Crewmen, who operate small, fast craft in in the rough littoral seas that the vessel is designed to excel in. SEAL teams routinely endure 15-25 mile (24-40 km) trips through rough seas aboard their V-hulled boats and 11-meter RIBs, which can cause a variety of injuries to the spine, internal organs and extremities. However the M-Hull system, which produces an air cushion, reduces the chances of crew injuries through lower G-Force impact during transit.