The M80 Stiletto substantially improves performance and capabilities while reducing construction and life-cycle expenses through the application of cutting-edge technology. This vessel is a prototype naval ship constructed by MSHIPCO for the Department of Defense as an operational experiment.

Despite measuring only 88 feet in length, this vessel possesses an unusually wide beam of 40 feet and operates with the prowess of a much larger vessel due to its composite construction and hull technology.

In close proximity to land and littoral regions, the Stiletto was designed to execute high-velocity military operations in support of the Navy’s office of force transformation. Its speed, travel quality, payload capacity, and unmanned vehicle assistance are unparalleled by any other hull.

In less than a year, the Stiletto was conceptualized, constructed, and delivered in order to showcase a novel hull configuration, its capacity for expansion, composite engineering, and a contemporary design-build approach.

The Stiletto is the largest vessel ever constructed from a sophisticated composite material (carbon fiber) for increased stiffness and decreased weight for the United States government. Due to its capabilities and efficacy, the design has been accelerated from experimental to operational status.

While not originally designed for operational use, the Stiletto was dispatched to Colombia in support of the United States’ wаr on narcоtics. During its interdiction in shallow water, the vessel operated at high speed, capturing 1,800 pounds of cоcaine.

Its superior performance is the result of the M-hull, a globally patented, proprietary technology developed by MSHIPCO that utilizes the energy of the bow wave to generate an air cushion that facilitates more efficient planing. The fully laden draft of the vessel is 3 feet, and its rated speed is 50–60 knots.