Eureka Naval Craft has launched its new Aircat Bobcat—a high-speed aluminum catamaran landing craft aimed at transforming ship-to-shore logistics and amphibious operations. Designed with modularity and speed in mind, the Bobcat targets military and commercial users operating in littoral zones where maneuverability and rapid deployment are critical.
Design Philosophy: Speed Meets Stability
The Aircat Bobcat is a twin-hull aluminum landing craft optimized for shallow water operations. Its catamaran design offers superior stability at high speeds compared to monohull counterparts. According to Eureka Naval Craft’s announcement at the Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) 2024 in Virginia Beach, the vessel can reach speeds exceeding 35 knots when lightly loaded.
The vessel measures approximately 15 meters (50 feet) in length with a beam of around 4.5 meters (15 feet), allowing it to operate in confined or shallow coastal environments. Its draft is under 1 meter when unloaded—ideal for beach landings or riverine insertions. The craft is powered by twin diesel engines coupled with waterjets for enhanced maneuverability and acceleration.
Mission Profile: Littoral Logistics and Tactical Mobility
The Aircat Bobcat is tailored for missions requiring rapid deployment of personnel or cargo from ship to shore without relying on fixed port infrastructure. It supports both military amphibious operations and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) scenarios.
Key mission roles include:
- Transporting troops or special forces teams to contested beaches
- Delivering light vehicles such as ATVs or UGVs
- Supplying forward operating bases near coastlines
- Evacuating civilians during disaster response missions
The flat deck can accommodate various payload configurations using tie-down points and modular rails. The open bow ramp allows quick loading/unloading of cargo or personnel directly onto unprepared shorelines.
Construction Details: All-Aluminum Build for Durability
The Aircat Bobcat is constructed entirely from marine-grade aluminum alloy—offering corrosion resistance while keeping weight low. This allows higher payload-to-weight ratios compared to traditional steel-hulled landing craft.
Eureka emphasized that the vessel’s structure meets ABS standards applicable to small naval auxiliary vessels. While not armored, the platform can be optionally fitted with ballistic protection kits depending on mission requirements.
The use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components throughout—including navigation systems, engines, and comms—simplifies maintenance and reduces lifecycle costs. The bridge features a digital helm station with GPS navigation, radar integration, AIS transponder capability, and secure VHF/UHF communications.
Market Positioning: Filling a Capability Gap in Littoral Ops
Eureka Naval Craft positions the Bobcat as a cost-effective alternative to larger LCACs or LCU-class platforms—particularly suited for distributed maritime operations (DMO), expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO), and Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) concepts being adopted by U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific.
This aligns with evolving U.S. Navy/Marine Corps doctrine emphasizing agility over massed force projection. Smaller connectors like the Aircat can support dispersed logistics chains across archipelagic terrain while reducing signature exposure compared to larger vessels.
Eureka has already conducted sea trials off the U.S. East Coast demonstrating beaching capability under load conditions up to approximately five metric tons—enough for quad bikes or palletized cargo loads.
Future Outlook: Potential Military Adoption & Export Interest
No formal procurement contracts have been announced yet; however, Eureka reports interest from multiple U.S. government agencies including SOCOM-affiliated units seeking agile littoral connectors for denied-area access missions.
The company also hinted at discussions with foreign militaries seeking fast-response platforms suitable for archipelagic defense postures—such as those pursued by Southeast Asian navies facing grey-zone threats in contested waters like the South China Sea.
A larger variant of the Aircat platform is reportedly under development that could carry heavier vehicles such as JLTVs or integrate unmanned surface vehicle (USV) capabilities via remote command-and-control modules.
