Austal Ltd. announced on Thursday that the U.S. Coast Guard has exercised contract options worth $314 million with Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., for the Heritage-class offshore patrol cutter (OPC) program.
The newly exercised options allow the shipbuilder to procure long lead time materials (LLTM) for three additional OPCs, Austal USA’s fourth, fifth, and sixth vessels under the program. Funding has also been provided for logistics supply items for two of the cutters.
The Coast Guard has said it plans to commission up to 25 Heritage-class cutters over the next two decades.
Austal USA was initially awarded the OPC contract in June 2022 for detail design and construction of up to 11 vessels, with a total potential value of $3.3 billion. To date, two OPCs have been awarded to the shipbuilder, in addition to LLTM for a third.
“These early awards reflect the strong partnership that has quickly developed between the Coast Guard and Austal USA teams, and provide an important sign of intent for OPCs 3-6,” said Austal CEO Paddy Gregg.
Construction is progressing on Austal USA’s first OPC, USCGC Pickering (WMSMS 919), with keel laying scheduled for December. Work on the second cutter, USCGC Icarus (WMSMS 920), began in early August.
The 360'x54'x17' OPCs are designed to support a broad range of U.S. national security missions, typically operating beyond 12 nautical miles from shore. The cutters will be used in law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue, and other operations where the Coast Guard’s unique capabilities are required.
Each OPC will have a range of 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots and an endurance of 60 days. The cutters can operate independently or as part of larger task forces and are equipped to serve as mobile command and control platforms for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass migration events, and Arctic missions related to emerging commerce and energy exploration.
