Missile boat is a small, fast warship that can fire guided missiles. It is used by navies to patrol and defend narrow seas and coastal waters.
Missile boats measure from about 83 to 200 feet (25 to 61 meters) long and can travel up to 40 knots (nautical miles per hour) or faster. They have diesel or gas turbine engines, or both. Missile boats carry from two to eight missiles. The missiles can reach enemy ships up to 60 miles (100 kilometers) away. In addition, missile boats have one or more guns for use against aircraft and small ships. These guns may be of up to 3-inch caliber.
Many missile boats are hydrofoils (see Hydrofoil ). At high speeds, their hulls are raised above the water by foils, wing-shaped structures below the surface. These craft are powered by diesel engines when their hulls are in the water, and by gas turbines when they are above the water on their foils.
The first missile boats were built by the Soviet Navy and went to sea in 1958. The most famous Soviet missile boat classes, the Osa and the Komar, have been used by many navies. In 1967, the Egyptian Navy used Komar class boats to sink an Israeli destroyer. The Egyptian boats were in their own harbor when they fired four missiles at the destroyer, which was 121/2 miles (20 kilometers) off the coast. The United States and other nations began to develop missile boats following this and other sinkings by Soviet-built craft. The first U.S. Navy missile boat, the Pegasus, was completed in 1976.
