USS Thunderbolt


USS Thunderbolt is the twelfth Cyclone class patrol ship. Thunderbolt was laid down 9 June 1994 by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana, and launched 2 December 1994. She was commissioned by the United States Navy on 7 October 1995.

Operational history

In 2013,Thunderbolt shifted homeport to Naval Support Activity Bahrain, arriving pierside there on 3 July 2013.
On 27 June 2017, Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Yuhas was relieved by Lt. Cmdr. Michael T. McAraw as commanding officer of Thunderbolt.
On 25 July 2017, Thunderbolt fired warning shots at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessel. According to an unnamed US defense official source, "The IRGCN boat was coming in at a high rate of speed. It did not respond to any signals, they did not respond to any bridge-to-bridge calls, they felt there was no choice except to fire the warning shots."