The Rigid Raider (RRC) is a series of fast raiding and assault craft made by RTK Marine, a subsidiary of Halmatic, part of BAE Systems Surface Ships. They are primarily in service with two branches of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

: The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

(incl. the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

and the Special Boat Service) and the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. Despite being among the smallest of the amphibious craft, the RRC is one of the most widely used due to its mobility and versatility. As such, the Rigid Raider often finds itself deployed in amphibious and riverine operations around the globe, in environments ranging from the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

to the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

.Royal Marines - Landing Craft
royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 15 June 2014

Specifications

The Rigid Raider Mk3 has the following specifications: *Hull:

Glass-reinforced plastic 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 c ...

*Weight (full): 2,500 kg (2.5 tonnes) *Length: *Width: *Engine: 6-cylinder turbo-diesel, *Speed (full): *Range: In excess of *Troops: 10 Royal Marines (2 crew, 8 fully equipped troops) *Number in service: 50 as of 2023 There is also a larger 8 meter version of the RRC in service with the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

References

External links

Royal Marines - Landing Craft
(royalnavy.mod.uk) *{{commonscat-inline, Rigid Raider Amphibious warfare vessels of the United Kingdom Landing craft British Army equipment Royal Marines Military boats

Specifications

See also

References

External links