Fassmer Debuts Raptor 7.0-Meter Police and Military RHIB

At this year's WorkBoat show in New Orleans, defense boat- and shipbuilder Fassmer debuted a new 7-meter rigid inflatable boat for police and military applications. The new Fassmer 7.0M Raptor RHIB is produced in partnership with Glasstream, and Fassmer suggests it could disrupt the seven-meter RHIB market.

The Fassmer Raptor features the existing super-low drag coefficient of all Glasstream hulls, combined with dynamic surface tension reduction and the progressive hydrodynamic super-cavitation generation features of the firm's Performance Offshore models.

"We entered into a partnership with Glasstream because we wanted to have an experienced boatbuilder make the hull here in the United States," says Tim Klaybor, managing director for Fassmer USA. "There are proprietary advancements in the hull form that make its performance far superior to other 7-meter boats on the market."

Fassmer says that the balance and strength of the Raptor translates into a stable platform which is capable in a variety of sea states, providing improved stability during wave transition, improved shock absorption, and better maneuverability. The advanced hull configuration also yields a substantial improvement in fuel economy, giving the Raptor extended range and expanded combat capability, as well as much higher top speed. The hull is not only innovative in performance, but also reliability, and every Fassmer Raptor hull will be backed with a 10 year warranty.

"This is the first generation in this product line, and it is primarily aimed at military and law enforcement applications," says Klaybor. "We also see strong future potential for the private yacht tender market, and we're planning a future SOLAS-compliant variant will begin production soon as well."

Each Fassmer Raptor is backed by a worldwide service network with more than 60 locations, along with nearly 170 years of Fassmer boat building experience.