Small boats, big mission

摘要

While U.S. ports may very well be in "full compliance" with ISPS as U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge claims, one of the biggest threats to shipping remains: the rubber boat. Terrorists have used small, high-speed craft filled with explosives against merchant and naval ships with deadly success, most notably against the USS Cole and the Limburg. So what's one of the best defenses against these small, highspeed boats? Other small, high-speed boats. So while platforms such as the 341-foot-long Offshore Patrol Boat and 421-foot-long National Security Cutter are impressive, the U.S. Coast Guard's best investments may be in the small, agile, high-speed rigid-hull inflatable boats launched from them.