5 Reasons Why the M80 Stiletto Is The Badass Boat to End All Boats

We talk about all kinds of things here at GameSpot, but one area in which we remain sorely lacking is our discussion of boats. BOATS. With a “b”.

Think of it this way: 70% of the world is water, while, on a good day, maybe only 3% of the world is video games. It seems reasonable to devote just a little more time thinking about this other 70% of the world and how we will inevitably bend it to our indomitable will using technology, cunning, and one badass boat.

That badass boat, my friends, is the M80 Stiletto.

Cribbing directly from your dating profile, America’s Navy describes the M80 Stiletto as a powerful, sleek, ultra-high-profile, carbon fiber-and-steel scythe of a ship perfect for close-combat situations. It is, in fact, the boat to end all boats. Here are five reasons why:

1) Actual Navy SEALs Call it the “Bat Boat”

Sure, “Boaty McBoatface” may be cute--the kind of boat you’d invite over for a night of board games and cocoa--but it’s not the boat any self-respecting, flying mammal-inspired, super-detective vigilante would call his own. The M80 Stiletto is, and that’s why actual Navy SEALs call it the “Bat Boat.” The shallow draft, along with its low-profile and faceted superstructure, allows the M80 to deliver a dozen Navy SEALs and Spec Ops personnel to their insertion points quickly and quietly, with a minimal radar signature. While SEALs execute the toughest missions out there, they can’t do it alone.

2) Gotta Go Fast!

6,600 hp engines allow the M80 Stiletto to plow through waves at up to 60 knots (about 70mph). Speeds like that would bounce a smaller boat--and its occupants--right out of the water, but the Stiletto’s wide, M-shaped hull forces waves through underwater troughs to generate lift. This also reduces the Stiletto’s draft to just three feet when fully-loaded, enabling the ship access to inland waterways and coastlines that would ground other vessels. (Fast, flexible, and able to access inland waterways… Note to self: Update dating profile.)

3) Release the Drones

Talk about two great tastes that taste great together--the M80 Stiletto combines everything you love about boats with everything you love about drones, carrying both airborne and seaborne drones that can provide a continuous stream of data to its onboard supercomputer. This allows SEALS to train using real-time reconnaissance information. New technologies from government and private developers are constantly being tested and tweaked using the M80 platform. Navy Information Systems Technicians can do it all.

4) It’s No Showboat (hey!), It Does Real Work

The Stiletto isn’t just for training and testing, it’s out there doing work. The boat has been deployed to recover NASA test vehicles that have splashed down in the Atlantic and has even seen action in counter-narcotics operations, successfully chasing down drug runners off the coast of Colombia.

5) The Price is Right

Perhaps the best thing about the M80 is its cost. At less than $10 million, the Stiletto is a bargain, representing a fraction of the cost of most boats in the Navy’s fleet. Seriously. This is a helluva lot of boat.

Like specs? Check these out!

• Type & class: Experimental Pentamaran

• Launched: January 31, 2006

• Displacement: 60 tons (full load)

• Length: 88.6 ft

• Beam: 40 ft

• Height: 15 ft

• Draft: 2.5 ft

• Propulsion: 4 × 1,650 horsepower C-30 CAT

• Top Speed: 60+ knots (70 mph)

• Cruising Speed: 40 knots (46 mph)

• Range: 500 nm at full load/max speed

• Crew: 3

• Troops: 12 SEALs

• Home port: Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Norfolk, Va.

Ready to accept this badass boat as your new boaty overlord? Think you have what it takes to code and command the systems in the M80 Stiletto? Check out these high-demand Cyber Warfare Engineer, Cryptology and Information Systems careers in America’s Navy.

Dive deeper into Navy innovation.