This September Colombia’s navy received the first three of eight new 2000TD hovercraft designed and built by Griffon Hoverwork of the United Kingdom. The fully amphibious 2000TD measures 41 feet in length, displaces 5 tons, and can carry more than 4,000 tons of cargo or 15 fully equipped troops at speeds exceeding 40 knots across the littorals, beaches, or farther inland. These modern air-cushion craft have proven highly suitable for a wide range of missions and geographic locations and currently serve in navies and coast guards all over the world. In Northern European nations such as Sweden, the highly maneuverable vessels are fitted with enhanced insulation and heating packages, and some have been specially modified to transport snowmobiles. In South American navies such as Venezuela’s or Peru’s (which recently ordered five additional units), they are frequently fitted with enhanced ballistic protection to operate in the Amazonian regions conducting shallow-water and riverine operations.
