The newly designed 87-foot Protector Class coastal patrol boat has several enhancements over the aging 82-foot boats, including improved mission sea keeping abilities (up to sea state 5), significantly upgraded habitability, and compliance with all current and projected environmental protection laws.
The Protector Class also employs an innovative stern launch and recovery system using an aluminum hulled inboard diesel powered waterjet boat. The vastly larger pilot house is equipped with an integrated bridge system including an electronic chart display system (ECDIS) which interfaces with the CG’s new surface search radar. SWIII computers along with a fiber optic network will also be installed, allowing the crew to access the vessel’s CD-ROM tech pubs and drawings.
![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)")
