USCG receives 27th FRC
The US Coast Guard (USCG) has accepted delivery of its 27th fast response cutter (FRC), Richard Snyder, in Key West, Florida, the agency announced on 9 February.
The 154ft Sentinel class cutter will be the first FRC to be stationed in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, and is scheduled to be commissioned in April 2018.
The new cutters are replacing the 110ft Island class patrol boats. To date, 44 of the 58 FRCs planned by the USCG have been ordered. Twenty-five FRCs are already in service.
The cutters have improved habitability and seakeeping and over-the-horizon cutter boat launch and recovery from astern or via side davits. They have an endurance of five days and can reach a maximum speed of over 28 knots.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear
The US Navy does not have a precise date for the award of the procurement contract for the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer despite having the funds to advance with the programme in FY2025.
-
US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes
The US Navy (USN) is currently reassessing its acquisition efforts and seeking ways to reduce the multiple delays across the shipbuilding initiatives.
-
Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule
The Royal Australian Navy has finally commissioned the first Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel – more than three years behind schedule – highlighting the programme’s delays, design compromises and ongoing industrial restructuring.
-
Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates
The Italian Navy is being refreshed with two new ships ordered, while in the past six months steel was cut for a new frigate, an enhanced frigate was delivered and Horizon-class frigates passed a design review.