Eastern Shipbuilding Group takes next step for first Heritage class cutter Argus.

According to a tweet published by Eastern Shipbuilding Group on July 12, 2022, the company successfully transferred Offshore Patrol Cutter (Heritage class cutter) Argus Hull 1 to launch position and shifted Hull 2 for the next phase of production at Berard Transportation.
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Future US Coast Guard's Heritage class cutter Argus (Picture source: Eastern Shipbuilding Group)

The Heritage class is the newest class of cutters in the USCG (United States Coast Guard), bridging the capabilities of the Legend-class cutters and the Sentinel-class cutters. USCG plans to acquire a total of 25 Heritage-class OPC vessels.

The Heritage class has a length of 110m-long and has a beam and a draft of 16.0 m and 4.9 m respectively. The ship displacement is 4,520 tons. The stern flight deck of the vessel has a capacity for carrying an MH-60 or MH-65 helicopter.

Two MAN 16V28/33D STC marine diesel engines will drive two five-bladed controllable pitch propellers and power the Heritage-class cutter. She is able to reach a top speed of 24.5 knots (45.4 km/h) with a maximum cruising range of 10,200 nautical miles at (18,900 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h). The ship has a crew of 126 people and an endurance of 60 days.

The Heritage class is armed with one MK 110 57 mm gun a variant of the Bofors 57 mm gun and Gunfire Control System, one BAE Systems Mk 38 Mod 3 25 mm gun with 7.62 mm co-axial gun, two M2 Browning .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns mounted on a MK 50 Stabilized Small Arms Mount (SSAM), four crew-served M2 Browning .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns.