Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship

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The USS Avenger (MCM-1) underway in Hawaiian waters in July 2004
Class overview
Builders	Peterson Shipbuilders Marinette Marine
Preceded by	Ability-class minesweeper
Succeeded by	Littoral combat ship
In commission	1987
Completed	14
Active	8
Lost	1
Retired	5
General characteristics
Type	Mine countermeasures ship
Displacement	1,312 tons
Length	224 ft (68 m)
Beam	39 ft (12 m)
Draft	15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion	4 × Waukesha Diesel engines (first two ships) or 4 × Isotta-Fraschini Diesel engines (600 hp (450 kW) ea.) 2 × 200 hp (150 kW) electric propulsion motors 2 × shafts with controllable pitch propellers 1 × 350 hp (260 kW) Omnithruster waterjet bow thruster
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	8 officers, 76 enlisted
Armament	Mine neutralization system, 4 × .50 caliber machine guns

Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships are a class of 14 ships^[1] constructed for the United States Navy from 1987 to 1994, designed to clear mines from vital waterways. The ships have the hull designator MCM.

The Avenger-class ships are being replaced by the Freedom and Independence-class littoral combat ships, as well as other MCM platforms, which use various unmanned air, surface, and undersea vehicles to detect and destroy naval mines at a standoff distance.^[2]