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.
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