Russia’s Rosoboronexport has confirmed the sale of its BK-10 assault boats to a sub-Saharan African nation.
Rosoboronexport JSC (part of the Rostec State Corporation) made the announcement through a Press Release on 10 April, few days after Military Africa made the exclusive disclosure.
According to the Press Release, Rosoboronexport JSC (part of the Rostec State Corporation) has begun to carry out its first export contract recently signed with a foreign customer from Sub-Saharan Africa for the supply of Project 02450 fast assault boats BK-10 designed and manufactured by Kalashnikov Concern, a Rostec’s member.
“The contract signed by Rosoboronexport was the first document for the supply of Russian-made final naval products to Sub-Saharan Africa in the last 20 years. This is an undoubted success in fostering military-technical cooperation with the countries of the region that is strategically important for Russia. We have been working long and purposefully to develop relations with them and expand our African footprint, which now covers almost the entire continent. The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, held in Sochi in October 2019, gave a strong impetus to the growth of our cooperation and its transition to a new quality level,” said Alexander Mikheev, Director General of Rosoboronexport.
The Project 02450 fast assault boat BK-10 is intended for transporting personnel, landing troops on unimproved shores, providing fire support to forces ashore, fighting piracy and terrorism, rendering assistance to those in distress. It features high speed performance and long operational range.
Powered by two high performance outboard gasoline engines, the BK-10 can reach speeds of up to 40 knots. With its large-capacity fuel tanks, the boat has a cruising range of up to 400 miles without refueling. It can carry up to 10 troopers and is equipped with a metal bow platform or ramp to facilitate landing on an unimproved shore. The boat provides comfortable accommodations for the troopers and the crew: it is fitted with high-performance shock-absorbing saddle-shaped seats which can be easily and quickly dismantled if required.
The BK-10 has an armored wheelhouse and a bullet-resistant windshield. Armored plates can be installed around the perimeter of the troop compartment to protect the soldiers. Strong engine protection bars are installed.
In addition, the boat has high firepower – up to four 7.62 – 12.7 mm machine guns, which significantly expands its mission area in its class.
The BK-10 may be carried by all means of transport (road, rail, air, river and sea) and used as a waterborne platform.
“The BK-10 surpasses all its closest competitors on the world market in terms of range, troop capacity and firepower. In turn, the relative simplicity of the construction technology enables Rosoboronexport to offer its partners the boat both as a final product and for licensed construction at the customer’s national shipyards,” Alexander Mikheev added.
