Waiting for the presence of the world's first tank boat

Almost a year and a half since the full-scale model (mock up) of the X18 Tank Boat 'Antasena' shown at the 7th Indo Defense event which took place in November 2016, here's the continuation news of this world's first tank boat.

Here's she is the X18 Tank Boat 'Antasena' full-scale model shown at 7th Indo Defense held on November 2016. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2wsM1tv)

The boat that drew its concept since 2015 was offered by a shipbuilding company from Banyuwang, East Java, namely PT.Lundin Industry Invest. (North Sea Boats) in collaboration with PT.Pindad, an Indonesian state-owned enterprise as a local partner.

While its foreign partners are the CMI Defense weapons industry, and OIP (Optique et de Instruments Precision), a sensor system development company. Both are from Belgium and also involve the Swedish defense industry Bofors.

The toughest challenge in designing a large cannon-armed small boat was the recoil problem caused by the canon fire and the weight of the ship itself. Learning from Sikorsky's lack of success with their monohull tank boat design, PT.Lundin applied a catamaran design (double keel) on the X18 to make it more stable and also applied a gyro-stabilized gun.

These X18 Tank Boat 'Antasena' suitable to operate on the river channel and the shoreline as waters patrol boat. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2wsM1tv)

In an effort to save the weight of the ship, PT.Lundin integrates lightweight composite materials that are 10 times lighter and 10 times stronger than steel and also fire resistant. This is different from the material that was used on their previous ship products such as the KCR Trimaran KRI Klewang 625. Besides that the X18 also uses aluminum material for the tower dome.

The CMI Defense is responsible for supplying the Cockerill XC-8 105HP turret system which already has a ballistic and stabilization computer system to provide solutions and correction of cannon shooting angles. This dome system is manned by two people whose have integrated with a bustle-mounted autoloader.

The vaulted tank cannon ships, X18 Tank Boat 'Antasena' also able to operate as a supporter ship in an amphibious landing or infiltration missions. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2wsM1tv)

These tank boat able to fire all types of NATO caliber 105 mm tank munitions that provide its commanders with various ammunition options according to tactical situations in the field. This canon can also release the Falarick 105 Gun-Launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile (GLATGM) which can crush a heavy armor vehicle at a distance of 5 km.

Its main weapon is the canon caliber 105 mm hp (high pressure) can be used to fight larger ships. These floating-tank has cannon elevation angle that reaches 42 degrees so make it can be used to provide indirect gunfires as far as 10 km while the allies troops are making landings.

The X18 Tank Boat 'Antasena' of Indonesian Ministry of Defense being made at PT.Lundin shipbuilding facility in Banyuwangi. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2PRjyWG)

As a secondary weapon, the X18 carries the Bofors LEMUR-Remote Weapon System (RWS) with 7.62 mm caliber machine guns. For the protection of the crew, PT.Lundin also provide an additional protection system at several points that can withstand bullet collisions up to 7.62 mm caliber and 12.77 mm caliber in frontal point.

The X18 Tank Boat 'Antasena' of Indonesian Ministry of Defense being made at PT.Lundin shipbuilding facility in Banyuwangi. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2NwDVqn)

This small ship with double keel has a dimention of 18.79 m long, beam over all 6.10 m and draugh of 1 m making it suitable for maneuvering in shallow waters ranging from around the river mouth to the coast and small inter-island straits. And these X18 is supported by two MAN-made diesel engines able to generate power of 1,200 hp to drive a pair of MJP450 waterjet with a maximum speed of 40 knots (74 kph) for sail as far as 2,000 miles (3,218 km).

In its mission, these X18 Tank Boat will be manned by six crew members, besides being used as a water patrol vehicle, it can also be used as a support vessel in an amphibious operations or troop infiltration because the X18 can carry 20 fully armed soldiers and also one Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB). Another function of the X18 is as a vehicle for logistical support or the role of Medevac.

As quoted of Angkasa Review on July 2018, the Indonesian government through the Ministry of Defense has been ordered this tank boat in 2017, and currently the construction process is being carried out at the PT.Lundin shipbuilding facility in Banyuwangi. In addition to fulfilling orders from the Indonesian government, the X18 'Antasena' has also been in demand by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

The X18 Tank Boat 'Antasena' will be sold with a selling price per unit in the range of €10-15 million, or equivalent to Rp.160-240 billion depending on the completeness weaponaries and equiptments carried by the ship.. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | TANKBOAT.COM]

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