There are several classes of Coast Guard ships that are called cutters. Learn where the name came from and why it's used so widely in today's service.

In fact, the U.S. Naval Institute reports, USCGC Mellon fired one in 1990, the only Coast Guard cutter ever to do so. After the USSR collapsed, the missiles were removed.

Since then, "cutter" became a catch-all term for any Coast Guard vessel over 65 feet that has a permanently assigned crew and the facilities to support extended operations at sea. It doesn't refer ...

May 23, 2025: Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the U.S. Coast Guard has ceased arming its larger cutter type ships with missiles. In the 21 st Century the growing threat of the Chinese navy and ...