Service: USCG Propulsion: 4x Paxman diesel engines, four shafts Armament: Two MK 38 25mm machine guns; four .50 caliber machine guns; two MK 19 40mm automatic grenade launchers; two M-60 machine guns Speed: 35 knots Crew: Four officers, 24 enlisted personnel.

The primary mission of these ships is coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance, an important aspect of littoral operations outlined in the Navy’s maritime strategy. The Cyclone-class PCs are particularly suited for the maritime homeland security mission and have been employed jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard to help protect the U.S. coastline, ports and waterways from terrorist attack; in addition, the ships have been forward deployed to the Gulf region in support of the war on terrorism.

The Cyclone-class ships are assigned to Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Of the 13 ships, two operate out of the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Va., three operate out of Mayport, FL., and eight are forward deployed to Manama, Bahrain. These ships provide the U.S. Navy with a fast, reliable platform that can respond to emergent requirements in a shallow water environment. USS Cyclone was the lead ship of the Navy’s Cyclone-class of patrol coastal boats.

The ship was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on February 28, 2000, and was given to the U.S. Coast Guard the next day. There, the Cyclone was re-commissioned as USCGC Cyclone (WPC 1). Serving in this role for another four years, the ship was finally transferred to the Republic of the Philippines on March 8, 2004, where the Cyclone entered naval service as BRP Mariano Alvarez (PS 38).

The Navy and Coast Guard signed an agreement in August 2004 that allowed five ships to be under the operational command of the Coast Guard beginning in October 2004. Two of five ships were returned to the Navy in 2008. The remaining three are scheduled for return in October 2011. In 2009, the ships began a sustainment program to update their ships engineering, navigation, communication, combat and support systems.

Ships in class: USS Hurricane (PC 3), Little Creek, VA USS Typhoon (PC 5), Manama, Bahrain USS Sirocco (PC 6), Manama, Bahrain USS Squall (PC 7), Manama, Bahrain USS Chinook (PC 9), Manama, Bahrain USS Firebolt (PC 10), Manama, Bahrain USS Whirlwind (PC 11), Manama, Bahrain USS Thunderbolt (PC 12), Manama, Bahrain USS Shamal (PC 13), Mayport, FL USS Tornado (PC 14), Mayport, FL USS Tempest (PC 2), Manama, Bahrain USS Monsoon (PC 4), Little Creek, VA USS Zephyr (PC 8), Mayport, FL