Coast Guard Exercises Options For 10 More Response Cutters
The U.S. Coast Guard announced September 9 it has exercised a contract option with Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La., to fund initial construction on 10 additional fast response cutters (FRCs). The $507 million option supports ongoing efforts to modernize the fleet and expand the Coast Guard’s global maritime mission.
The action was made possible by the passage of Public Law 119-21, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which increases the total number of FRCs ordered under the current agreement from 67 to 77. Supported by historic investments, this legislation provides nearly $25 billion—the largest single funding commitment in Coast Guard history—including $1 billion dollars for additional FRCs. The first FRC funded through this option is expected to be delivered in fiscal year 2028.
“As the first Coast Guard contracting action to execute over $100 million in reconciliation funds and the first reconciliation-funded action executed by a cutter program, this is a historic accomplishment for the service,” said Rear Adm. Mike Campbell, the Coast Guard’s director of systems integration and chief acquisition officer. “Since its introduction to the fleet in 2012 as the successor to the 110-foot Island-class patrol boat, the fast response cutter has consistently proven its capabilities, adaptability and effectiveness in a wide range of maritime environments and Coast Guard missions.”
Sentinel-class FRCs are critical assets in the Coast Guard’s mission to control, secure and defend the U.S. border and maritime approaches. To date, 59 of these cutters are in service, replacing the aging fleet of 1980s-era Island-class 110-foot patrol boats. The Sentinel-class FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; over-the-horizon cutter boat deployment to reach vessels of interest; and improved habitability and seakeeping.
Expanding the FRC fleet continues the Coast Guard’s modernization through Force Design 2028, an initiative introduced by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to transform the Coast Guard into a more agile, capable and responsive fighting force. The FRC fleet will complement the capabilities of the service’s national security cutters (NSCs), offshore patrol cutters (OPCs) and polar security cutters (PSCs) as an essential element of the nation’s layered maritime security strategy.
