The Armet, which the photo illustrating this article shows sailing off Toulon on November 27, is now assigned to the National Maritime Gendarmerie Training Center (CNIGM), located in the Var harbor. This launch replaces as the main nautical means of training the old Mélia, which dates from 1987 and was withdrawn from service last April.
The Armet is the result of a bastard program notified in 2017 by the Directorate General of Armaments to the Socarenam shipyard, which collaborated on the design with the Delion architectural office. In order to save money, it was a question of creating a maritime and port surveillance boat (VSMP) and a helicopter hoisting training boat (VEH) on the basis of the same hull. The Armet was delivered in 2020, just like its almost twin, the Palyvestre, attached to the Hyères naval aeronautics base.
The VEH Palyvestre.
Well designed but poorly constructed, the VSMP, which encountered various problems and was sent back to its manufacturer to undergo corrective work, never gave satisfaction to the Loire maritime gendarmes. The platoon from the port of Nantes Saint-Nazaire therefore fought to keep the unit that the Armet was to replace, although older and smaller, the Haubert, which would normally be reassigned to the PSMP of Calais once its replacement entered. in service in the Loire estuary. The Haubert is one of eight 12.6 meter VSMPs, delivered in 2011 by the Ufast shipyard in Quimper.
The VSMP Armet and Haubert in the Loire estuary, in spring 2020.
Finally, while the nautical system of the Maritime Gendarmerie was reorganized, particularly on the Channel/North Sea coast, the staff decided to leave the Haubert in Saint-Nazaire and send the Armet to Toulon to replace old Mélia.
15 meters long and 5.5 meters wide, the Armet speedboat, made of aluminum, is operated by two sailors and can accommodate six additional personnel. Equipped with two Scania diesel engines and two Hamilton waterjets, it can sail at nearly 30 knots.
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