The Osprey class are a series of coastal minehunters designed to find, classify, and destroy moored and bottom naval mines from vital waterways.

The Osprey class are the world's second largest minehunters (surpassed by the Royal Navy's 60-meter (200 ft) Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels) to be constructed entirely of fiberglass and designed to survive the shock of underwater explosions.

Their primary mission is reconnaissance, classification, and neutralization of all types of moored and bottom mines in littoral areas, harbors and coastal waterways.

All of the major equipment is suspended from the main deck in glass-reinforced plastic holders, so that in the event of an undersea explosion, it will not be damaged.

They also use an AN/SQQ-32 Variable Depth Sonar, which is tethered to the front of the bridge, to detect and identify mines using multiple ping processing.

[5] The U.S. General Services Administration (GS) announced in April 2014 that hull numbers MHC-51, 54, 56, 57, 58, and 62 were up for auction to be sold as an entire lot for "dismantlement purposes only."