Due to this they were originally equipped for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), with the capability to find, track and destroy enemy submarines.

[9] After the completion of FRAM, a joint Navy/USCG board decided further upgrades to the cutters' armament would be implemented, including the installation of Harpoon anti-ship missiles and a MK 15 Phalanx CIWS.

[11] After the removal of the ASW weapons, the Coast Guard installed MK 38 25 mm chain guns on both sides of each cutter.

The Hamilton-class cutters were equipped with the Coast Guard's SeaWatch command and control system, which combined navigational, tactical, surveillance and communications into one situational awareness picture, replacing the cutters' outdated Shipboard Command and Control System.

The Hamilton-class cutters were intended to fulfill both the peacetime and wartime requirements of the Coast Guard.

[13] Construction at Avondale Shipyards on the lead ship, the Hamilton, began in the 1960s and the cutter was commissioned on March 18, 1967.

The program included updates and changes to the cutters weapons, sensors, the addition of a helicopter hangar, engine overhauls, and improved habitability.