Coast Guard Fast Response Cutter Melvin Bell was commissioned on March 28, 2024, at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, and will be homeported in Boston. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Thieme, Coast Guard Academy.
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Bollinger Shipyards this week said it has received a contract option for two more Coast Guard fast response cutters (FRCs), bringing the total number of short-endurance vessels to 67.
The Coast Guard told Defense Daily
the contract option is valued at $113.1 million. Both FRCs are expected to be delivered in fiscal year 2028. Currently, 56 FRCs have been accepted by the service, one of which is still awaiting commissioning.
The 154-foot vessels have a five-day endurance and a range of 2,500 nautical miles but have conducted operations as far as 4,400 nautical miles from their homeport.
The Coast Guard is requesting $216 million in its FY ’25 budget for two more FRCs that would be deployed to the Indo-Pacific region.