USS Aquila ( PHM - 4 ) The second USS " Aquila " ( PHM - 4 ) was the fourth ship of her class of hydrofoils operated by the United States Navy . " Pegasus " class vessels were designed for high speed and mobility , and carried a powerful ( for their size ) armament . Named for the constellation , " Aquila " ( " Eagle " ) was laid down on 10 July 1979 at Seattle , Washington , by Boeing Marine Systems ; launched on 16 September 1981 ; sponsored by Mrs . John D . Bulkeley , the wife of Rear Admiral John D . Bulkeley , World War II , PT - boat hero ; and commissioned at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 26 June 1982 , Lieutenant Commander David M . Lee in command . Service history . After completing her fitting out , " Aquila " got underway from Bremerton , Washington , on 15 July in company with and and shaped a course for her home port , Key West , Florida . " Frederick " escorted the two guided - missile hydrofoil gunboats as far as Rodman in the Canal Zone where took over . " Aquila " and her traveling companions transited the Panama Canal on 8 August and arrived in Key West three days later . The warship spent the remainder of 1982 conducting shakedown and other training out of her base at the Trumbo Point Annex , Naval Air Station , Key West , Florida . During the first quarter of 1983 , post - shakedown repairs occupied her time . That spring , " Aquila " embarked upon a schedule of normal training duties out of Key West that occupied her time through the summer and into the all of 1983 . From 10 to 20 October , she joined " Taurus " and for special operations in the Caribbean Sea . In mid - November , " Aquila " and " Taurus " joined at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , to test the feasibility of operating guided - missile frigates and guided - missile hydrofoil gunboats together in the same task organization . However , demands attendant to the American presence in Grenada forestalled the experiment . " Aquila " , " Taurus " , and " Aubrey Fitch " headed for Grenada where they performed patrol duties and relief work until the middle of December . " Aquila " returned to Key West on 16 December and spent the last two weeks of the year in port . Holiday leave and upkeep ended early in January 1984 , and " Aquila " reembarked upon normal operations out of her base at Key West . In May , the guided - missile hydrofoil gunboat added another duty to her busy training schedule , helping the Coast Guard to interdict the traffic in illicit drugs . That fall she joined " Taurus " in a special mission to the Caribbean coast of Central America . The two warships returned to Key West at the end of the first week in November , and " Aquila " resumed her program of training missions and drug traffic interdiction . She continued so occupied through the end of 1984 and during the first half of 1985 . Late in July 1985 , the warship began a restricted availability that lasted until the middle of October . Following post - overhaul trials , " Aquila " rejoined the effort against drug smugglers in mid - December . Law enforcement duties occupied her during the first two months of 1986 . In March , she carried out post - overhaul refresher training and , late in April , participated in FLEETEX 1 - 86 staged in the West Indies . Immediately thereafter , " Aquila " joined in another exercise , Operation " Ocean Venture 86 , " that simulated an attack on an enemy fleet attempting to force the Mona Passage between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico . At the beginning of the second week in May , the guided - missile hydrofoil gunboat returned to normal operations out of Key West . She interrupted those operations twice that summer — once early in July and again early in August — to conduct special tests with A - 7E Corsair II aircraft for the Chief of Naval Operations . Otherwise , she carried out normal duties from her base at Key West through the end of the year . " Aquila " was decommissioned in 1993 and sold in 1996 .