Huntington Ingalls Industries Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of the National Security Cutter Stone on Tuesday.

The Stone is the ninth Legend-class cutter being built for the U.S. Coast Guard. NSC is the primary large vessel for the Coast Guard and functions as a law enforcement surface combatant.

"NSCs are essential to the Coast Guard and play a significant role in making America safer and stronger," Ingalls' vice president of program management Kari Wilkinson said in a statement.

The ship is named in honor of former U.S. Coast Guard commander Elmer "Archie" Fowler Stone. Stone became the Coast Guard's first aviator and later became one of two pilots to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a U.S. Navy seaplane.

The Legend-class cutter is a large patrol ship over 400 feet long. It has a maximum speed of up to 32 mph and a range of 14,000 miles. It can stay at sea for about two months.

The Legend-class mounts several types of air and surface search radars along with electro-optical surveillance systems and sonars. It also carries a scaled-down version of the Lockheed Martin Combat Management System, anti-missile countermeasures and a electronic warfare suite.

It is armed with a Mk-110 57mm gun, a 20mm Phalanx Close-in Weapons System for point defense and a number of M2 Browning .50 and M240B machine guns. It can carry a MH-65C Dolphin helicopter and several drones.

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