US Navy decommissions patrol craft Firebolt

The US Navy decommissioned one of its ten remaining Cyclone-class coastal patrol craft in a ceremony at Naval Support Activity Bahrain on Wednesday, February 23.

The nearly 27-year-old USS Firebolt was one of 10 patrol craft currently forward-deployed to the Middle East in support of regional maritime security operations. The ship was commissioned in June 1995 and began conducting routine coastal patrol operations under the US Fifth Fleet in 2003.

Prior to operating from Bahrain, Firebolt helped secure New York City’s harbour immediately following the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. Months later, it conducted coastal patrols in the Arabian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom.