Avenger class ships are designed as mine sweepers/hunter-killers capable of finding, classifying and destroying moored and bottom mines. The last three MCM ships were purchased in 1990, bringing the total to 14 fully deployable, oceangoing Avenger class ships.
These ships use sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote control. They are also capable of conventional sweeping measures. The ships are of fiberglass sheathed, wooden hull construction.
Ships:
USS Avenger (MCM 1), Sasebo, Japan
USS Defender (MCM 2), Sasebo, Japan
USS Sentry (MCM 3), Manama, Bahrain
USS Champion (MCM 4), San Diego, CA
USS Devastator (MCM 6), Manama, Bahrain
USS Patriot (MCM 7), Sasebo, Japan
USS Scout (MCM 8), San Diego, CA
USS Pioneer (MCM 9), San Diego, CA
USS Warrior (MCM 10), Sasebo, Japan
USS Gladiator (MCM 11), Manama, Bahrain
USS Ardent (MCM 12), San Diego, CA
USS Dextrous (MCM 13), Manama, Bahrain
USS Chief (MCM 14), San Diego, CA
![U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro](http://images01.military.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_large/public/2024-10/mil-carlos-del-toro-uss-atlanta-1800.jpg?itok=28vQST14 "U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announces the branch's newest Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine will be named the "USS Atlanta" during a ceremony at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum on Oct. 23, 2024. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Riley Bunch/TNS)")
