PATROL BOATS DESIGNED BY REDAN

Aist patrol boat (Project 1398B)

One of the first state orders placed with the Zolotov Boat- building Yard was to build wooden sea-going motor boats designed to perform patrol missions at sea and on rivers. 

While being a leading enterprise in the boat-building industry, the Redan Central Design Bureau was engaged in designing and building various-purpose motor boats for lake, river and sea applications. Among the boats created by the Redan Central Design Bureau are service boats, trading boats, towing boats, medical boats, inshore survey boats, diver's and rescue boats, including airdrop craft, and many other types for the Navy and industry. Almost all of them can be transported by rail to the most remote areas. 

These boats are indispensable in areas where there are no other means of transport. They can be used to carry cargo and people, render first aid, combat forest fires, etc. 

Considerable emphasis is placed by the Redan Central Design Bureau on the designing and building of patrol boats featuring high mobility and speed and capable of reaching difficult-to-access areas, taking a group of men on board, and carry the required armament and equipment. 

Since 1914, Redan has been constantly improving the design and performance characteristics of patrol boats. In 1928, the yard's engineers designed and built the type ZK (Zolotov's boat) boats for border guards. Those boats were intended to patrol coastal areas. In the early 1930s, the yard's engineers designed and built the type KM boats, which, in addition to a variety of dedicated missions, could be used as patrol craft. During World War II, these boats stood naval personnel in good stead. Once, the KM boats detected the U-250 German submarine in the Gulf of Finland and maintained contact with it until a submarine chaser arrived and destroyed it. The former Zolotarev Yard was directly involved in the development of a submarine chaser, type MO. After World War II, the Central Design Bureau created a patrol boat, type Pelican, which served on the Amu-Darya River. It was a small wooden boat with a displacement of about three tons. It served for 15 years and then was replaced with a new boat, dubbed Aist, which displaced five tons. Developed by the Central Design Bureau in the late 1960s, Aist has already served for 30 years. Compared with other types, this patrol boat is liked by Russian users most of all. Even today, new Aists slide down Redan construction ways. 
Aists perform patrol duties in inland and coastwise waters in Asia, Africa and the Americas. 

In addition to Pelican and Aist, the Central Design Bureau has created a larger craft, called Flamingo, displacing 40 tons, which, however, is not as fast, with a cruising speed of 20 km/h. Nevertheless, more comfortable conditions for the crew, more powerful armaments and enhanced endurance enable this boat to perform a greater number of missions. One of Flamingo's modifications, a patrol boat called Kulik, can discharge patrol duties or provide ground and sea stations with the necessary supplies, including food and ammunition. 
 

Boets patrol boat (Project 13987)

 
In the late 1970s, the speed of patrol boats did not exceed 40 km/h, which did not satisfy the customer's requirements. To overcome the speed problem, gas (air) cushion principle for the boat motion was applied. Previously, the speed restraint was overcome by application of hydrofoils or air cushions, but neither variant was applicable to patrol boats for technical reasons. The Redan Central Design Bureau was the first to use a gas cavern principle which opened up new opportunities for creating high-speed multirole ships. 

The Saigak gas cavern patrol boat pioneered the new family of craft. Basically a 13-ton boat, it is fast and maneuverable and can be used in inland and coastal waters. Moreover, Saigak can navigate in shallow waters and develop speeds of up to 70 km/h. 

Using the same principle, engineers of the Redan Central Design Bureau have developed the Mustang-1 and Mustang-2 patrol boats with displacements of 16 and 28 tons and cruising speed of 60 and 90 km/h, respectively. 

In 1996, on the order of the Federal Border Guard Service, a small high-speed patrol boat, dubbed Boets, was built. The boat displaces about 6 tons and develops a speed of over 60 km/h. The craft can carry a team of 12 men to any point over a distance of up to 450 km. A large-caliber machine gun or portable grenade launcher can be installed on board the ship. The boat can be provided with divers' equipment and an inflatable raft, enabling the ship to perform patrol functions not only on the water and on the ground but also underwater. 

The need for patrol boats has considerably grown of late. Therefore, over the past two years the Redan JSC has developed a number of patrol boats, including Boets and Mustang-1. Two high-speed fishery patrol boats designed to operate in the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea and in the Far East are under construction. Development of documentation has been completed for the Ekos sea-going high-speed patrol boat intended to supervise exploration and protection of marine resources and for the Mustang-2 gas cavern patrol boat. 

The company's future developments include framed inflatable motor-driven boats that seamen, fishermen, rescuers and fishery protection inspectors are already awaiting. 

In the new market conditions, the company is trying to preserve and develop its existing potential through designing and building new generations of up-to-date boats, opening new sale markets, expanding nomenclature of traditional products, as well as assimilating the production of pleasure boats and motor yachts.