Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., delivered the 53rd fast response cutter (FRC) to the Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. last week.
The 154’ vessel, USCSC John Patterson, will be homeported in Sector Boston. Sector Boston services the area between Plymouth, Mass., and the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border, extending its operations 200 nautical miles offshore. This delivery is the fourth of six FRCs to be homeported in the region.
The new FRC is powered by two 5,800-hp engines that gives the vessel a flank speed of 28 knots. Outfitted with a stern launch and recovery system, the vessel can deploy a 26’ over-the-horizon IV cutter boat.
FRCs are outfitted with L3Harris’ C4ISR suite to streamline their command, control, communications, intelligence, and monitoring systems.
The FRC is also outfitted with four .50 caliber machine guns, an MK-19 40 mm automatic grenade launcher, and a MK 38 25-mm autocannon.
“Pound for pound, the quality, and capabilities of the FRC platform are unmatched and we’re confident that this vessel will outperform its mission requirements and expectations in the challenging conditions where it will operate in the North Atlantic,” Ben Bordelon, Bollinger Shipyard’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
The video below shows a Bollinger-built FRC.
