XM30 Bridge Erection Boat: The Army’s New Boat

The U.S. Army's new boats anchor military bridging ops.

By U.S. Army Press Release - July 7, 2015

The Bridge Erection Boat, the Improved Ribbon Bridge (IRB), and their transporter are required to construct and retrieve up to nearly 690 feet of floating bridge. The IRB has a Military Load Class (MLC) 96 wheeled (normal) and 110 (caution); MLC 70 tracked (normal) and 85 (caution); and is used to transport weapon systems, troops, and supplies over water when permanent bridges are not available. Photo by Erika J. Jordan

Another advantage of the BEB is it will allow the Army to retire the Improved Boat Cradle. Now, both the IRB bays and BEB will ride on the Bridge Adaptor Pallet. “That takes 14 boat cradles out of a bridging company and eliminates an entire piece of equipment,” said Maurice Peyton, integrated product support manager. “As a logistician, anything we can do to reduce the logistics footprint and maintenance burden on Soldiers makes a big difference, and this does just that.”

The BEBs can also operate on several different types of fuel, and will be used by Soldiers deploying the IRB in wet-gap crossings. The boats provide propulsion, maneuvering, thrust, and anchoring to the IRB bays, enabling tactical float bridge and rafting operations. The BEB also can provide short-term anchorage, assist in troop transport, as well as recover personnel and equipment.

The BEB maneuvers the bridge bay just moments after launch from the Common Bridge Transporter. BEBs are key to employing the Improved Ribbon Bridge, as the boats assemble the rafts and bridges by maneuvering five to seven bay combinations of ramp and interior bays forward, reverse, and sideways in water where currents flow at speeds of up to 6 feet per second. Photo by Erika J. Jordan

A BEB sports a two-Soldier crew (operator and crewman) and is launched and retrieved from the Common Bridge Transporter, a modified Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. The new BEB is interoperable with MRBC equipment and launches in less than five minutes to assemble IRB sections, which can be constructed to provide a bridge, raft or ferry capability. The BEB will support rafting operations in fast water and operates in high-particulate-matter environments, such as sand in the air, as well as in silt in fresh, brackish, and sea water.

The Army plans to acquire and field nearly 400 BEBs; full-rate production is slated to begin about a year from now and the training base will receive the first BEBs off the production line. BEBs are designed for a 20-year life and will be fielded to active Army, Reserve, and National Guard MRBCs, while the U.S. Marine Corps will retain the older MK II version.