USS Firebolt (PC-10)

History of USS Firebolt (PC-10)

Despite the long coastline, the U.S. Navy does not deploy a large number of coastal patrol boats for defensemainly due to the lack of an area threat. One of the main classes deployed for this role remains the Cyclone class, with about 14 ships in total. The lead ship USS Cyclone (PC-1) was handed over to the Philippine Navy in March 2004 (subsequently renamed BRP Mariano Alvarez (PS-38)).

Several others have passed into USCG ownership and have returned. The USS Firebolt is an active member of the class, commissioned in 1995 and currently stationed at Manama, Bahrain (or Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia). She is the tenth ship of the group.

She ordered 19 July 1991, built by Bollinger Shipyards and laid 17 September 1993. She launched on June 10, 1994, and was officially added to the USN inventory on June 10, 1995, where she is active today (2016).

These ships are designed as coastal patrol boats, so speed and maneuverability along with shallow draft are prerequisites for defensive, intercept-oriented operations in deep and shallow water operations. USS Firebolt has a crew of 30 with 2 x 25mm Mk 38 chain guns, 2 x Mk 19 40mm Automatic Grenade Launchers (AGL), up to 5 x 12.7mm Heavy Machine Guns (HMG), 2 ??x 7, armament 62 mm M240B Medium Machine Gun (MMG), 2 ??x BGM-176M "Griffin B" Quadruple Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM) launchers and Stinger Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) launchers (carry six in total missile). Power comes from 4 x Paxman diesel engines driving 4 x axles under the stern. This propels the boat to 35 knots.

Her structure is 175 feet long, 25 feet wide, has a draft of 7.5 feet, and has a displacement of 335 tons.

The side profile of the boat sees the bridge integrated into the front structure in the usual way. This section is detailed by rectangular windows for viewing above and around the forecastle. The bow is raised only slightly to pass through the ribs, with a continuous hull line extending from bow to stern. Handrails can be seen along this line. Several other smaller superstructures are attached to the rear of the bridge section, with exposed masts located near the midship behind the bridge.

The weapons on the forecastle provide an almost 180 degree unobstructed view of the fire field. She carries a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) for access, boarding, search and seizure operations (VBSS) and a variety of infantry small arms for close combat.

After 9/11, the United States and its "Alliance of the Will" launched Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom Iraq. This has resulted in the USS Firebolt being redeployed in the waters off Bahrain, an ally of the United States in the Middle East.

She survived a suicide attack off the coast of Iraq in April 2004, but three people died.

In April 2005, she helped rescue 89 survivors from a capsized boat in the Gulf of Aden.

USS Firebolt in support of the US aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Persian Gulf, October 2011.

In May 2013, USS Firebolt participated in IMCMEX 13, which included anti-mine drills. In August of the same year, she joined the Spartan Kopis of the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

In June 2015, USS Firebolt successfully launched a Griffin missile during a test in the Arabian Gulf. The AGM-176 Griffin is an air-to-surface missile developed by Raytheon and production began in 2008 after seeing combat action in the Afghanistan theater.

In September 2016, she was reported to have encountered Iranian naval personnel who approached the USS Firebolt in an "unsafe" and "unprofessional" manner, with a ship parked about 100 meters in front of her bow meter.

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