Patrol Combatant Missile (PCM)
E2. Naval, defence and maritime law enforcementDefinition
Small missile craft (e.g., Cyclone class derivatives).
A small missile-armed patrol combatant; in US Navy hull-classification terms the symbol PHM denoted the Pegasus-class Patrol Combatant Missile (Hydrofoil), six hydrofoils armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles and a 76 mm gun, in service 1977 to 1993. The broader patrol-combatant-missile category covers fast missile craft used for littoral sea denial, overlapping the missile-boat and fast-attack-craft types. The Pegasus boats could sprint above 40 knots foilborne but proved costly to maintain, and the US Navy retired the class without replacement in 1993.
Source: US Navy hull symbol PHM (Patrol Combatant Missile, Hydrofoil), Pegasus-class, in service 1977 to 1993.