Defender Class Boat
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The Defender-class boat, also called Response Boat–Small (RB-S) and Response Boat–Homeland Security (RB-HS), is a standard boat introduced by the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
in 2002. The boats serve a variety of missions, including
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
,
port security Port security is part of a broader definition concerning maritime security. It refers to the defense, law and treaty enforcement, and Counterterrorism activities that fall within the port and maritime domain. It includes the protection of the se ...
and law enforcement duties and replaces a variety of smaller non-standard boats. The design length of the hull is and the boat is officially referred to as such. However, the overall length with engines mounted is approximately . Powered by twin
outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...
s, they are capable of speeds in excess of and have a range of , depending on the class. The boat requires a minimum crew of two persons, but has a carrying capacity for ten persons. The boat is easily trailerable and can be transported by a
C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
aircraft or truck. Although similar in appearance to a
rigid-hulled inflatable boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull (watercraft), hull bottom joined to side-forming a ...
, the Defender is actually an
aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
-hulled vessel, equipped with a rigid foam-filled flotation collar. The first generation of boats were built by
SAFE Boats International Founded in 1997, SAFE Boats International is an American-based Shipbuilding, boat manufacturer. SAFE stands for Secure All-around Flotation Equipped. Their headquarters is near Seattle in neighboring Bremerton, Washington. SAFE Boats Internationa ...
of
Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city ...
, a vendor of government and law enforcement boats. The replacement second generation was ordered in 2011 from
Metal Shark Boats Metal Shark Boats is an American developer and builder of aluminum-hull vessels that operates shipyards in Jeanerette, Louisiana, Jeanerette and Franklin, Louisiana, Franklin, Louisiana. It offers a variety of vessels ranging from commercial transp ...
.


Design

The Defender class utilizes a rigid deep-V hull constructed of marine grade aluminum. While similar in appearance to the
sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, Instantaneous stability, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercra ...
of a
rigid-hulled inflatable boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull (watercraft), hull bottom joined to side-forming a ...
the Defenders' collar is actually made from rigid
polyethylene foam Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...
. The boat is powered by two outboard engines, usually
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
four-strokes though Mercury and Johnson engines have also been used. Tow bitts are fitted forward and aft which also serve as mounting points for M240B or
M60 machine gun The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO Cartridge (firearms), cartridges from a disintegrating Belt (firearms), belt of M13 links. There are sev ...
s.


Variants


A class

The Defender A class or Response Boat–Homeland Security (RB-HS) was the first version of the Defender class and entered service in 2002. Some A-class boats in service with the
Maritime Security Response Team Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...
(MSRT) have gray collars instead of the more common orange.


B class

The Defender B class, also known as the Response Boat–Small (RB-S) is a further development of the A class. First entering service in 2003 it has a slightly longer cabin, additional spotter windows aft, shock mitigating cabin seats, a smaller fuel tank, and various other minor changes. It is the most common of the three classes.


C class

The Defender C class, sometimes known as the Response Boat Small–Charlie, is a modification of the B class and was designed as a replacement for the aging Transportable Port Security Boats (TPSB) currently used by
Port Security Unit The U.S. Coast Guard's Port Security Units are Deployable Specialized Forces organized for sustained expeditionary security and anti-terrorism. They perform Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) missions, which include harbor and port defen ...
s. The C class has a gray foam collar, a cabin climate control system, and an increased armament of one
M2HB The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...
.50-caliber machine gun on a modified forward mount and two M240B machine guns on port and starboard mounts just aft of the cabin. The first C-class boats were delivered to Port Security Unit 305 in May 2008 for testing and entered operational service at
Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by the U.S. military) is a United States military base located on of land and water on the shore of Guant ...
, Cuba in 2009.


Service life and replacement

With the Defender-class boats nearing the end of their ten-year service life, the United States Coast Guard issued a request for proposal for replacement design for the Response Boat-Small. The request called for a boat, with weapon mounts, a minimum speed of , and a range of at least . Contracts were awarded for two boats, one from SAFE Boats International and one from Metal Shark Aluminum Boats, for testing and on September 26, 2011 the Coast Guard awarded a contract to
Metal Shark Boats Metal Shark Boats is an American developer and builder of aluminum-hull vessels that operates shipyards in Jeanerette, Louisiana, Jeanerette and Franklin, Louisiana, Franklin, Louisiana. It offers a variety of vessels ranging from commercial transp ...
for the production of 38 Response Boats-Small. In November, Metal Shark was awarded a $192 million contract for up to 500 response boats—470 to replace the entirety of the Coast Guard's 2002-built fleet, 20 for the US Border Patrol, and 10 for the US Navy.


Operators

* (coast guard) * * * *
Naval Security Team The Naval Security Team (NST; ) is a deployable and self-sustained Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) force protection unit established in 2016 tasked to augment the Canadian naval fleet's existing force protection assets in expeditionary or domestic envi ...
* * * * * *
Israel Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...
* * Liberian Coast Guard * * * * 4 units Acquired via US FMS Program. Additional units scheduled for delivery. * *
Togolese Armed Forces The Togolese Armed Forces (, FAT) is the national military of the Republic of Togo which consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Gendarmerie Nationale Togolaise, National Gendarmerie. The total military expenditure during the fiscal year o ...
operates one * * * *
Virginia Marine Police The Virginia Marine Police is the law enforcement division of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. Mission The primary functions of the Virginia Marine Police, as the front-line def ...


See also

*
Equipment of the United States Coast Guard Watercraft Cutters Originally, the Coast Guard used the term ''cutter'' in its traditional sense, as a type of small sailing ship. Larger cutters, over in length, are controlled by Area Commands, the Atlantic Area or Pacific Area. Smaller cutt ...
*
Response boat-medium Response may refer to: *Call and response (music), musical structure *Reaction (disambiguation) *Request–response **Output (computing), Output or response, the result of telecommunications input *Response (liturgy), a line answering a versicle ...


References


External links


U.S. Coast Guard: Response boat-small fact sheet
(PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Uscg Defender Class Boat Defender Deployable Operations Group