USCGC Stone (WMSL-758) is the ninth Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard and is expected to be stationed in Charleston, South Carolina.[4][5]

USCGC Stone (WMSL-758)
History
United States
NameStone
NamesakeElmer Fowler Stone
Awarded31 March 2015
BuilderHuntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Cost$499.76 Million[1]
Laid down14 September 2018
Launched4 October 2019
Christened29 February 2020
Acquired10 November 2020
Commissioned19 March 2021
HomeportCharleston
IdentificationPennant number: WMSL-758
Motto"Energy Efficiency Courage"[2]
StatusActive
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeLegend-class cutter
Displacement4,500 long tons (4,600 t)
Length418 ft (127 m)
Beam54 ft (16 m)
Draft22.5 ft (6.9 m)
PropulsionCombined diesel and gas
Speed28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi)
Endurance60 to 90-day patrol cycles
Complement120
Sensors and
processing systems
  • AN/SPS-75 air search radar
  • SPQ-9B fire control radar
  • AN/SPS-79 surface search radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare system
  • 2 x Mk 36 SRBOC/ 2 x Mk-53 NULKA countermeasures chaff/rapid decoy launcher
Armament
ArmorBallistic protection for main gun
Aircraft carried2 x MH-65C Dolphin MCH, or 1 x MH-65C Dolphin MCH and 2 x sUAS[3]

Development and design

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All of Legend-class cutters were constructed by Huntington Ingalls Industries and were part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program.[6] They are of the high endurance cutter roles with additional upgrades to make it more of an asset to the Department of Defense during declared national emergency contingencies.[7] The cutters are armed mainly to take on lightly-armed hostiles in Low-Threat Environments.

Construction and career

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Stone was laid down on 14 September 2018, launched on 4 October 2019 by Huntington Ingalls Industries and christened on 29 February 2020. She will be expected to be commissioned in February 2021. Her sea trials took place on 15 September in the Gulf of Mexico and was successfully delivered to the Coast Guard on 10 November 2020.[8]

On 22 December 2020, she left Pascagoula, Mississippi for her first patrol, which was also her shakedown cruise, in the South Atlantic.[9][10] While in the South Atlantic, she participated Operation Southern Cross which is designed to counter illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing along with strengthening partnerships throughout the region.[11][12] On January 29, 2021, it was announced that the Stone would not make her scheduled stop in Argentina after visiting Guyana, Brazil, and Uruguay. The crew did not disembark in Montevideo, due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] Before returning home, while off the coast of Guyana she helped to interdict a suspected narcotic trafficker with USCGC Raymond Evans (WPC-1110).[14] Evans took possession of the contraband and the traffickers. The recovered cocaine was estimated to be in excess of 970 kilograms.[15] After recovering the drugs, she continued on her shakedown cruise covered 18,250 nautical miles (33,800 km) over the course of 68 days before returning home.

Stone was commissioned on 19 March 2021, in her homeport of North Charleston, S.C.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Production Awarded For Eighth National Security Cutter" (PDF). USCG.mil. US Coast Guard. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  2. ^ "USCGC Stone (WMSL 758)". tioh.army.mil. The Institute of Heraldry. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "Coast Guard Selects Small UAS For NSC" (PDF). USCG.mil. US Coast Guard. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  4. ^ "USCGC Stone (WMSL-758) | Modern weapons". 14 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  5. ^ Industries, Huntington Ingalls. "Photo Release--Ingalls Shipbuilding Awarded $88.2 Million Advance Procurement Contract for a Ninth NSC". Huntington Ingalls Newsroom. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  6. ^ "National Security Cutter (NSC)". Integrated Deepwater System Program. Archived from the original on 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  7. ^ John Pike. "Maritime Security Cutter, Large (WMSL) / National Security Cutter (NSC)". Archived from the original on 2011-09-01. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  8. ^ "Video: Newest US Coast Guard Cutter Undergoes Sea Trials". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  9. ^ "Fresh from Shipyard and Quarantine, Coast Guard Cutter Stone Heads Out for Southern Atlantic Patrol". USNI News. 2020-12-29. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  10. ^ "U.S. Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Stone Underway for First Patrol - DefPost". defpost.com. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  11. ^ "DVIDS - Operation Southern Cross". DVIDS. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  12. ^ Staff, Seapower (2021-03-04). "U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone Completes Operation Southern Cross". Seapower. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  13. ^ "El buque de la Guardia Costera de EEUU que patrulla el Atlántico Sur finalmente no hará escala en Argentina". infobae (in European Spanish). January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  14. ^ "On Maiden Voyage, USCGC Stone Crew Interdict Narcotics in Caribbean". U.S. Southern Command. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  15. ^ "On Maiden Voyage, USCGC Stone Crew Interdict Narcotics in Caribbean". U.S. Southern Command. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
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