The Navy really didn’t like the Cyclone class patrol craft (PC), the 170-foot long coastal patrol boats built for the Naval Special Warfare community in the 1990s to replace the old Mekong Delta style 65-foot PB Mk III boats.
Originally the plan was to order 16 of these craft, then it was cut to 14, then when the Navy got them they quickly gave class leader Cyclone to the Philippines and decommissioned four others, turning them over to the Coast Guard for use as medium endurance cutters, leaving the Big Blue with just 9 ships which they were kinda OK with because they just used them to putter around Little Creek anyway.
150317-N-SF508-627 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) leads other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) in formation during a divisional tactics exercise. PCRON-1 is deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released) CLICK TO BIG UP
150317-N-SF508-274 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) and other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) transit in formation during a divisional tactics exercise.PCRON 1 is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released) CLICK TO BIG UP
Then came the heightened post-Saddam tensions with Iran in the Persian Gulf and, with the Navy suddenly looking for their small boats again, the Coast Guard was forced to give back their Cyclones and ten of the ships were sent to Manama, Bahrain where they serve as the force that keeps the Straits of Hormuz open as PCRON1 (the other craft are stationed at Mayport).
They are among the smallest ships in the fleet and get rode hard
They have been augmented with the MK-60 Patrol Coastal Griffin Missile System to help defend against Iranian swarm attacks if needed. The system uses the AGM-176 Griffin, a 35-pound four foot long Frankenstein cobbled together from the Javelin and Sidewinder– but it carries a 13 pound blast fragmentation warhead and has a range of 5 miles, which will scratch the paint job of a Boghammar speedboat pretty good while outraging the RPGs, Dhsk guns and unguided rockets typically carried by those asymmetric craft by a bit.
Five coastal patrol ships (PC) and their crews, assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 55, conducted a test and proficiency fire on the Griffin Missile System (GMS) June 26-28. CTF 55 supports maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the 5th fleet area of responsibility. Also available in high definition. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Joshua Bryce Bruns/Released)
