A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile and offensive warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defensive capabilities to survive in blue water. The size of the vessel also limits the fuel, stores and water supplies. Sizewise they are usually between 50–400 tonnes and can reach speeds of 25–50 knots.
A fast attack craft's main advantage over other warship types is its affordability. Many FAC's can be deployed at a relatively low cost, allowing a navy who is at a disadvantage to effectively defend itself against a larger adversary. A small boat, when equipped with the same weapons as its larger counterpart, can pose a serious threat to even the largest of capital ships.
Read more about Fast Attack Craft: History
Famous quotes containing the words fast, attack and/or craft:
“A sure cure for boredom: fast until you are ravenous.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“A great deal of unnecessary worry is indulged in by theatregoers trying to understand what Bernard Shaw means. They are not satisfied to listen to a pleasantly written scene in which three or four clever people say clever things, but they need to purse their lips and scowl a little and debate as to whether Shaw meant the lines to be an attack on monogamy as an institution or a plea for manual training in the public school system.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“So by craft or art
We can give the part
Wholeness in a sense.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)