Djibouti has received four Defender patrol boats from the United States meant to be used by the country’s military. The delivery comes weeks after delivering Humvee vehicles to the Horn of Africa nation.
The four 27-foot (8 m) Defender boats were delivered to Djibouti City in two batches in late February as part of a train-and-equip partnership between the US Department of State and the Djiboutian military.
The Djiboutian Navy will be the main utilizers of the boats which join two Metal Shark 28 Defiant coastal patrol boats donated by the US in April 2013. Djibouti’s small navy also includes half a dozen Sawari class inshore patrol vessels, half a dozen fast launches, and a single ex-French landing craft. Japan donated two 20-meter patrol boats to Djibouti’s Coast Guard in December 2015.
The Defender can carry up to ten people and is primarily used by the Coast Guard and other Department of Homeland Security agencies. Also, Djibouti joins the ranks of Liberia, Togo, and Benin who have also been supplied with the same by the US.
As Djibouti is located next to one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, it is an important location in the fight against Somali piracy and its port is used by foreign navies patrolling shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Due to its key location, Djibouti’s small navy has received training, equipment and assistance from foreign countries.
