Special
Operations.Com
U.S.
Coast Guard Special Mission Units
Deployable
Pursuit Boats (DPBs)
The Coast Guard Gets Some Speed
By Commander Dan MacLeod, USCG
As the United States Coast Guard continues to face
a threat from small, fast, maneuverable “go-fasts”
utilized by today’s drug smugglers, the Coast Guard
has procured assets to “fight fire with fire.” Through
several initiatives, the Coast Guard is investing
in its own small fleet of “go-fasts” to counter the
ever growing tendency of smugglers to utilize “go-fasts”
to move contraband from source countries to Mexico,
Haiti, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic for
further movement to the United States.
Deployable Pursuit Boats (DPBs)
The Coast Guard recently awarded a contract to Fountain
Powerboats to provide a highly capable “go-fast”
that can be deployed from ships. These boats—Deployable
Pursuit Boats (DPBs)—will be outfitted on two former
U.S. Navy T-AGOS vessels that the Coast Guard is modifying
specifically to provide additional resources for their
counter-narcotics mission.
The DPBs are Fabio Buzzi 38-foot RIB design that
are capable of reaching speeds in excess of 55 MPH.
Table 1 provides additional information about the
boat and the equipment installed onboard.
Table 1.
