Cyclone class patrol ship

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Career (US)
USS Cyclone (PC 1)
Builder:	Bollinger Shipyards, Inc.
General characteristics
Displacement:	331 tons (336 metric tons) full load
Length:	170 ft (52 m)
Beam:	25 ft (7.6 m)
Propulsion:	Four Paxman diesels; four shafts; 3,350 shaft horsepower (2.50 MW)
Speed:	35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h)
Crew:	Four officers, 24 enlisted personnel
Armament:	1 × MK 96 machine gun 1 × MK 38 25 mm machine gun 5 × .50 caliber machine guns 2 × MK 19 40 mm automatic grenade launchers 2 × M60 machine guns

USS Hurricane (PC-3) moves past USS Whirlwind (PC-11) and another unidentified Cyclone-class patrol ship at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, 2005.

One of two Mk 38 25mm machine guns carried by the Cyclone class patrol ships (USS Chinook shown)

The Cyclone class patrol ships are a class of United States Navy coastal patrol boats.

The primary mission of these ships is coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance, an important aspect of littoral operations outlined in the Navy's strategy, "Forward...From the Sea." These ships also provide full mission support for Navy SEALs and other special operations forces. The Cyclone class ships are assigned to Naval Special Warfare. Of the thirteen ships, nine originally operated out of the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, and four originally operated from the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. These ships provide the Naval Special Warfare Command with a fast, reliable platform that can respond to emergent requirements in a low intensity conflict environment.

Five hulls have been decommissioned and loaned to the United States Coast Guard to be returned to the Navy in 2009 and one was donated to the Philippine Navy. Of the remaining eight, all are homeported at Little Creek except Whirlwind, which is homeported in Bahrain as part of a rotating forward deployment.

The hulls donated to the US Coast Guard are used in a variety of roles, including interception, boarding, and inspection of foreign freighters arriving at US ports.