The 40PB shows its speed in this photo and is armed with a .50cal M2 heavy machine gun at the bow, 7.62mm miniguns and acoustic devices amidships, and a M240B at the stern. The radar, electro-optical camera, and FLIR are visible on the short mast above the cabin. Metal Shark photo.

Naval News brings us a bit more informaton about the Navy’s new 40 foot force protection patrol boat. Most significantly,

NAVSEA: A total of 56 [40-foot Patrol] boats have been awarded to Metal Shark Boats and as of 9 May 2022, 20 boats have been delivered to the U.S. Navy.

In 2017 we discussed the program here and revisited it in 2019 here. The last indicated boats were being delivered at a rate of one every four weeks, meaning Metal Shark will likely be building these boats through early 2025.

Metal Shark calls this model the “40 Defiant” although it is actually 44 foot. Their description is here.

The 85-foot Defiant-class Near Coastal Patrol Vessel (NCPV) is being acquired by NAVSEA for Foreign Military Sales. Metal Shark photo.

There is also a some discussion of the Metal Shark “85 Defiant” patrol boat that is being produced for Foreign Military Sales. This is an evolution of the same design that gave the US Coast Guard its 87 foot “Marine Protector” WPBs (it too is actually 87 foot loa). The Navy calls this class Near Coastal Patrol Vessels or NCPV. We discussed this class in 2017. We noted at the time that Metal Shark had been award a contract,

“…potentially worth upwards of $54 million, Metal Shark will build up to thirteen 85-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and other United States partner nations. Additionally, Metal Shark will supply electro-optical infrared sensors, diagnostic equipment, in-country reactivation, crew familiarization, and test support to NCPV operators.

Metal Shark’s website has a description of the vessel here.