According to information published by the U.S. DoD on April 21, 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard commissioned the USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147), Patrol Forces Southwest Asia's (PATFORSWA) sixth 154-foot Sentinel-class cutter, into service at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City.
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(Picture source: U.S. DoD)
The Sentinel-class cutter, also known as Fast Response Cutter due to its program name, is part of the United States Coast Guard's Deepwater program. On September 26, 2008, Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana, United States, was awarded US$88 million to build a prototype.
She is equipped with a stern launching ramp, that allows her to launch or retrieve a water-jet propelled high-speed auxiliary boat, without first coming to a stop.
Her high-speed boat has the over-the-horizon capability and is useful for inspecting other vessels and deploying boarding parties. She is designed to support her crew of 24 for missions of up to five days, over distances of almost 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 km; 3,452 mi).
The vessels are armed with a remote-control 25 mm Bushmaster autocannon and four crew-served .50-caliber (12.7 mm) M2HB heavy machine guns. They have a bow thruster for maneuvering in crowded anchorages and channels. They also have small underwater fins, for coping with the rolling and pitching caused by large waves. The vessels are manned by a crew of 22.
Sentinel-class cutter Clarence Sutphin Jr. (Picture source: U.S. DoD)
