The Defender-class boat is a 25-foot U.S. Coast Guard response boat-small family manufactured by SAFE Boats International. Coast Guard materials describe the RB-S as a high-speed Defender-class craft for response and security missions, with more than 400 boats in operation by 2013, while the later RB-S II program replaced the aging first-generation Defender-class fleet with larger boats emphasizing crew comfort, visibility, communications, and maintainability.
The Defender-class page is kept as a relationship-only support record because the cited sources document Coast Guard service, standardization, and replacement rather than direct use in a named armed conflict. The sourced context still matters for adjacent maritime-security records: the first-generation RB-S standardized a mixed shore-based small-boat fleet, supported post-9/11 maritime security teams, and was later renewed by the RB-S II program.
Coast Guard materials describe the RB-S as a small, fast platform for port security, law enforcement, search and rescue, interdiction, and environmental response.
The Coast Guard selected Metal Shark for RB-S II production in 2011 and delivered the final second-generation response boat-small in December 2019.
A 2013 Coast Guard acquisition feature described more than 400 RB-S boats in operation and called the RB-S the largest vessel class in the Coast Guard fleet.
The first-generation Coast Guard craft appears in sources under Defender-class, Response Boat-Small, and Response Boat-Homeland Security labels. RB-S II is treated here as the larger second-generation replacement program rather than a SAFE Boats-built Defender variant.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Response Boat-Homeland Security | First-generation Defender-class designation | WorkBoat ties SAFE Boats' post-9/11 Response Boat Homeland Security work to the Defender-class RB-S program context. Sources: WorkBoat SAFE Boats Feature |
| Response Boat-Small | First-generation 25-foot Coast Guard RB-S | Coast Guard sources identify the 25-foot Defender-class boat as the first-generation RB-S that entered service in 2002 and later drove the RB-S II replacement program. Sources: Coast Guard RB-S II 2013 Feature, Coast Guard Sector Detroit Packet |
| Response Boat-Small II | Second-generation replacement program | Coast Guard acquisition pages describe RB-S II as the replacement for aging 25-foot Defender-class RB-S boats, with the final RB-S II delivered in December 2019. Sources: Coast Guard RB-S II Program, Coast Guard 2017 RB-S II Order |
A Coast Guard acquisition feature says the 25-foot Defender-class RB-S was put into Coast Guard service in 2002.
Sources: Coast Guard RB-S II 2013 Feature
The Coast Guard awarded a delivery order for 38 RB-S II boats to Metal Shark Aluminum Boats as part of the program to replace the first-generation RB-S fleet.
Sources: Coast Guard RB-S II 2013 Feature, Coast Guard RB-S II Program
Coast Guard acquisition coverage described more than 400 RB-S boats in operation, noted the Defender-class RB-S was nearing the end of its service life, and cited electronics obsolescence as a major replacement driver.
Sources: Coast Guard RB-S II 2013 Feature
A Coast Guard Sector Detroit welcome packet described a 25-foot Defender-class boat manufactured by SAFE Boats International and summarized RB-S speed, sea-state, and transport characteristics.
Sources: Coast Guard Sector Detroit Packet
The Coast Guard RB-S II program page says the 370th and final RB-S II was delivered to Station Honolulu in December 2019.
Sources: Coast Guard RB-S II Program
