
The NCPV Betelgeuse is docked during a ceremony at La Calderas naval base in Peravia, Dominican Republic, on August 6, 2020. The U.S. is delivering Near Coastal Patrol Vessel (NCPV)s to navies and coast guards in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations. The 85-foot NCPVs are built by Metal Shark at Franklin, La., for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and other United States partner nations. Photo courtesy Dominican Navy
Back in 2017 I passed along a report from NavyRecognition that Metal Shark had been awarded a contract
“…potentially worth upwards of $54 million, Metal Shark will build up to thirteen 85-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and other United States partner nations. Additionally, Metal Shark will supply electro-optical infrared sensors, diagnostic equipment, in-country reactivation, crew familiarization, and test support to NCPV (Near Coastal Patrol Vessel–Chuck) operators.
These are referred to as Defiant class patrol vessels.
Found a photo (above) of one in a Marine Link post, “Navy Combat Craft – Boats Evolve to Keep Pace with Threats.” The photo below is from Wikipedia.

The PM-15, a Defiant class patrol vessel the USA gave to El Salvador, in 2021. US State Department photo.
It appears only five of the class were delivered, one each to the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. No idea what happened to the contract for the remaining eight.
If it looks familiar, it is because it is an evolution of the Damen design that gave us the Marine Protector class 87 foot WPBs.
If Meal Shark and Gulf Craft LLC, THeir aluminum neighbor on the other side of the highway would have a good opportunity to team up. They could easily be pumping out MUSVs. We are just so slow and indecisive.
Building the hulls is the easiest part of the program. Apparently, they are moving on this. Navy Issues Large Contract for Development of Unmanned Surface Vehicles | Chuck Hill’s CG Blog (chuckhillscgblog.net)
Here is a good article I found on Baird about equipping USCG for gray zone with China.. https://www.bairdmaritime.com/security/non-naval-security/coast-guard/opinion-how-to-equip-the-us-coast-guard-against-chinas-grey-zone-operations/