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
-
US Navy’s MUSV programme could lay the USV procurement blueprint for NATO allies
The programme’s structure as a marketplace will allow multiple companies to compete for ongoing procurements; an approach which could be replicated across the Atlantic.
-
UK Defence Investment Plan: What does it mean for the country’s naval forces?
Investment in nuclear submarines, autonomous systems and stronger defensive capabilities for existing vessels show a clear strategic shift in Royal Navy priorities.
-
UK Royal Navy shifts focus from warships to system-led warfare
With a revised Defence Investment Plan on the way ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit on 7-8 July, the UK government has begun to reveal more details of how its future naval fleet could look.