The boats are targeted for delivery starting in May and extending through September; they will be stationed throughout the country in Great Lakes, East, West and Gulf Coast locations.
This brings the total of RB-S IIs ordered to 370; 339 RB-S IIs have been delivered.
Before launching the RB-S II program, the US Coast Guard was operating more than 400 Defender-class RB-S boats, making it the largest vessel class in the Coast Guard fleet. The RB-S II, designed with an increased emphasis on function and crew comfort, is gradually replacing the Defender-class RB-S as the older assets reach the end of their service life.
The 29-foot new boats can reach a top speed of over 40 knots. They are being fitted with State-of-the-art shock-mitigating seats, Fore and aft gun mounts with a forward shock-mitigating gunners seat, and two NAVNET 3D displays for secondary navigation
The RB-S II is a multi-mission platform, used for the full range of Coast Guard missions, including: search and rescue; vessel boarding team deployment and law enforcement missions; port security; drug and migrant interdiction and environmental response operations.
