US Coast Guard, News, Reports, Data, etc.

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Aviationist said:

The U.S. Coast Guard has received the first of 14 C-27J Spartans painted with the service’s traditional color scheme.

The U.S. Coast Guard has accepted the first of 14 C-27J Spartan aircraft in the service colors on Mar. 30.

The Spartan will be introduced into the USCG medium range surveillance aircraft fleet and will conduct drug and migrant interdiction, disaster response, and search and rescue missions.

The aircraft, belonging to a fleet of 21 Spartans that the

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to save money back in 2012, was taken on charge by the Coast Guard HC-27J Asset Project Office (APO) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina; it will be transferred to Air Station Sacramento, California, this summer to continue the station’s transition from the HC-130H to the C-27J.

According to a

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, five Spartans have been in operation at the APO since completing the regeneration process; the Coast Guard is conducting test flights on a sixth aircraft with the Air Force’s 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tucson, Arizona, where the process to bring the Spartans out of long-term preservation is completed.

A second aircraft was delivered to the paint facility March 21, and two of the C-27Js are currently in Sacramento for training purposes.

In October of 2013 SOCOM was authorized to receive 7 of the cargo planes to replace its fleet of

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aircraft.

The USCG 14

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s will supplement a fleet of 15 CH-144s: the Coast Guard had originally ordered 36 of the CH-144s but halved the order once they learned that they could acquire the

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s directly from the Air Force at no cost.

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Naval Today said:

U.S. Coast Guard’s sixth National Security Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) has completed builder’s sea trials, Huntington Ingalls Industries, the company in charge of the ship’s construction has informed.

Legend-class, as the National Security Cutters are called, are flagships of the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet. Designed to replace the 378‐foot Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters that entered service in the 1960s, they are 418 feet long with a 54-foot beam and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 110.

Built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, Munro spent three days in the Gulf of Mexico testing all of the ship’s systems.

Ingalls’ test and trials team conducted extensive testing of the ships’ propulsion, electrical systems, damage control, anchor handling, small boat operations and combat systems. This culminated in the successful completion of a four-hour, full-power propulsion run.

“The National Security Cutter program exemplifies the sustainable success that can be accomplished through serial production of a ship class,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias.

“We experienced a safe and successful builder’s trial, which is a result of outstanding teamwork from our shipbuilders and our U.S. Coast Guard partners,” said George S. Jones, Ingalls’ vice president of operations. “It is an exciting time in this program, and the NSC class of ships is truly a high-performing design. The pride of workmanship—from those on trial to the many craftsmen and women, designers, procurement specialists and all other shipbuilders who touched the ship during this process—allowed this ship to perform so well at sea.”

Ingalls has delivered the first five NSCs and has three more under construction, including Munro (WMSL 755), set to deliver in the fourth quarter of this year. Kimball (WMSL 756) is scheduled for delivery in 2018, and Midgett (WMSL 757) in 2019.

Munro is named to honor Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro, the Coast Guard’s sole recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was mortally wounded on Sept. 27, 1942, while evacuating a detachment of Marines on Guadalcanal.

The cutters include an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats and a flight deck to accommodate a range of manned and unmanned rotary wing aircraft. The Legend class is the largest and most technologically advanced class of cutter in the Coast Guard, with robust capabilities for maritime homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defense missions.

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Naval Today said:

The U.S. Coast Guard received the 19th fast response cutter, Rollin Fritch, in Key West, Florida, on August 23.

The Coast Guard said USCGC Rollin Fritch would be based in Cape May, New Jersey as the first FRC stationed outside Florida or Puerto Rico.

The 19th FRC is named after Seaman First Class Rollin Fritch, who died Jan. 8, 1945, during a battle off the coast of Luzon in the Philippines. Fritch remained at his post as a member of a gun crew aboard the USS Callaway under heavy fire until an enemy plane collided with the vessel. He posthumously received the Silver Star.

The 154-foot (46.9 meter) FRCs patrol coastal regions and feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; improved habitability and seakeeping; and the ability to launch and recover standardized cutter boats from astern or via side davits.

Bollinger Shipyards is building the U.S. Coast Goard Sentinel-class fast response cutters based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708 design.

FRCs are replacing the 1980s-era 110-foot Island-class patrol boats and execute critical missions including defense readiness; law enforcement; search and rescue; and ports, waterways, and coastal security. The cutters have an endurance of five days and a top speed of more than 28 knots.

Of the 38 FRCs ordered, 17 are in service: six in Key West, six in Miami, and five in San Juan. The 18th FRC is scheduled for commissioning later this month. The FRC is complemented operationally by the national security cutter, which serves in the open ocean, and will later be joined by the offshore patrol cutter, which will bridge the capabilities of the FRC and NSC.

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Naval Today said:

The U.S. Coast Guard recently awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a contract to procure long lead time materials for the construction of the ninth national security cutter.

The total value of the contract is approximately $88.2 million and includes the initial order of components and materials necessary to support and sequence construction of the new cutter, including steel plating, propulsion systems, marine turbine/diesel engines, air search radar, ship integrated control system, switchboards and generators.

The NSCs are the Coast Guard’s most technologically advanced cutters. They are built to act as command and control centers for complex national security, defense and law enforcement missions and have interdicted hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contraband. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf – the first NSC to enter service – seized more than 20 tons of cocaine in 2015.

Five of the nine planned NSCs have been delivered to the Coast Guard: Coast Guard cutters Bertholf, Waesche and Stratton in Alameda, California, and Coast Guard cutters Hamilton and James to Charleston, South Carolina.

The sixth NSC, Munro, is scheduled for delivery in December and commissioning in spring 2017. The launch of the seventh, Kimball, and the keel authentication for the eighth, Midgett, are scheduled to occur later this year.

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After conducting a thorough evaluation of proposals submitted by competing shipyards, the U.S. Coast Guard has awarded the largest vessel procurement contract in Coast Guard history to Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Florida. Eastern Shipbuilding Group was selected to finalize its design and construct the first series of Nine Offshore Patrol Cutters to replace the Medium Endurance Cutters currently in service. The contract is initially for Nine vessels with options for Two additional vessels. The Coast Guard program goal is to build Twenty Five Offshore Patrol Cutters having a potential total contract value in excess of Ten billion dollars. Initially, Eastern has been awarded the detail design effort with a value of approximately One Hundred Ten million dollars. Construction of the first vessel is expected to commence in 2018.

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navyreco said:

Eastern Shipbuilding Group Selected to Build United States Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutters

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Naval Today said:

Rolls-Royce will be providing propulsion gear for the U.S. Coast Guard’s new offshore patrol cutters, the company announced on February 28.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, the prime contractor on the program, selected Rolls-Royce equipment for the USCG OPC fleet’s first nine vessels, with an option to add two more.

Rolls-Royce will supply the USCG OPC fleet’s controllable pitch propellers (CPP), shaft lines and Promas rudders, which offer increased propulsive efficiency and improved maneuverability. Rolls-Royce will also supply bow thrusters, steering gear, fin stabilizers and MTU marine generator sets.

“The Offshore Patrol Cutter is the U.S. Coast Guard’s largest shipbuilding program and we are extremely proud to be confirmed as a major supplier to Eastern Shipbuilding Group on a project that will transform future capability,” Sam Cameron, Rolls-Royce, senior vice president, sales & business development – naval, said. “This contract marks one of the most comprehensive Rolls-Royce systems packages ever to be selected for a coast guard vessel, and we’re looking forward to delivering and integrating our marine technology into this new and highly capable ship.”

Four EPA Tier 3 compliant MTU 12-cylinder Series 4000 (1000kW) generator sets will provide each vessel with electrical and loiter propulsion power. The units are Naval Vessel Rules (NVR) certified by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

The new vessels will replace the USCG’s fleet of Medium Endurance Cutters, providing a capability bridge between the National Security Cutter (NSC) fleet, which is equipped with Rolls-Royce controllable pitch propellers and bow thrusters, and the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) fleet, which operates closer to shore.

The new Offshore Patrol Cutters will be built at ESG’s shipbuilding facility in Panama City, Florida. Construction will begin in 2018 with delivery of the first vessel scheduled for 2021. The US Coast Guard plans to build a total of 25 OPC ships.

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USNI News said:

The Coast Guard is celebrating its birthday by naming its new class of Offshore Patrol Cutters after a mix of the earliest and most famous vessels in the service, according to a Friday morning ALCOAST message.

Four of the first 11 cutters will bear the names used for the earliest vessels in the Revenue Cutter Service — Active, Argus, Diligence and
Vigilant, read the message.

Additionally, “OPC Pickering will pay homage to the distinguished combat record of the Quasi-War cutter Pickering. OPCs Chase and Ingham will carry the names of [cutters] that served with distinction in World War II, read the message. OPC Rush will bear the name of the Bering Sea cutter that helped open the Alaskan frontier for generations of American settlers,” read the message.
“OPC Icarus will be named for a cutter that sank one of the first U-boats after U.S. entry into World War II and captured her crew. OPCs Alert and Reliance bear the names of famed workhorses of the medium-endurance cutter fleet.”

Active One of the ‘First Ten’ U.S. Revenue Cutters. Active entered service in 1791
Argus One of the ‘First Ten’ U.S. Revenue Cutters. Argus entered service in 1791
Diligence One of the ‘First Ten’ U.S. Revenue Cutters. Diligence entered service in 1792
Vigilant One of the ‘First Ten’ U.S. Revenue Cutters. Vigilant entered service in 1791
Pickering In 1799 the cutter bested a more heavily armed French privateer after a 9-hour battle.
Chase USRC Salmon P. Chase, commissioned in 1878 as a training vessel.
Ingham Treasury-class cutter served as a escort in World War II, sinking a German U-Boat in 1942.
Rush Dexter-class Revenue Cutter commissioned in 1874 made several cruises off Alaska.
Icarus Thetis-class patrol boat sank German U-Boat and captured crew off North Carolina in 1942.
Alert an active a Reliance-class cutter named for an early cutter in the Revenue Cutter Service.
Reliance an active a Reliance-class cutter named for an early cutter in the Revenue Cutter Service.

The Offshore Patrol Cutter program was awarded to Florida shipbuilder Eastern Shipbuilding as part of a $110.3 million initial contract in September. The program for the 25 cutters could be worth up to $2.38 billion.

“The offshore patrol cutter will be the backbone of Coast Guard offshore presence and the manifestation of our at-sea authorities,” said Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard in a statement. “It is essential to stopping smugglers at sea, for interdicting undocumented migrants, rescuing mariners, enforcing fisheries laws, responding to disasters and protecting our ports.”

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Jeff Head said:

Well it has been a year since the US Coast Guard selected the Eastern Shipbuilding design for the new class of large cutter, the Off-Shore Patrol Cutter which will replace a fleet of existing vessels.

The class name is to be the "Heritage Class, WMSM- 915 Cutter".

The National Security Cutter, or Legend WMSL-750 Class, is the larger class cutter for the US Coast Guard and is a good sized frigate class and can carry two Jayhawk (Coast Guard version of the Seahawk) helicopter.

Where as nine of the Legend Class will be built (and each of them displaces about 4,000 tons), 25 of the Heritgae are to be built and they are frigate sized vessels.

Like the Legend class, they are built to be able to be tasked with US Navy escort and patrol duties in a time of crisis, adding certain sensors and weapons systems that they have been built for, but not with.

This means that the US Coast Guard has now completed choosing all of its new cutter program for replacing a total of nintey+ cutters.

The Legend Class which are the largest will be a class of nine, seven of which jave already been launched nd the last two building.

The Heritage Class of Offshore Patrol Cutters which will be a fleet of 25 strong. The first of these cutters is currently building, but still awaiting keel laying.

And the Sentinel Class of Medium Response Cutters, which will be a fleet of 58 cutters, 23 of which are commissioned and 25 have been launched.

The 91 planned Legend, Heitage and Sentinel class cutters are intended to replace 90 older Coast Guard ships—12 high-endurance cutters (WHECs), 29 medium-endurance cutters (WMECs), and 49 110-foot patrol craft (WPBs).

Here is some later news about the Heritage Class:

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View attachment 42101​

...and...

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More pics of the Heritage Class:

View attachment 42102
View attachment 42103

These vessels will have the following characteristics:

Length: 360 feet
Beam: 54 feet
Draft: 17 feet
Displacement: 3,000+ tons
Sustained Speed: 22.5 knots
Range: 10,200 nm at 14 knots
Endurance: 60 days
Propulsion: Two 16V marine diesel engines
Prop Type: Two five-blade, controllable pitch
Boats: Three OTH
Hangar: One MH-60 or MH-65, plus UAS
Armament:
1 x 57mm main DP gun
(Perhaps one 25mm auto cannon)
(Can have a Phalanx 20mm CIWS and other weapons added for War time use. Ships are designed for these systems, but not with)

Here's a great PDF from a report to the US Conferee about all three classes and their statis from August of this year:

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The 91 planned Legend, Heitage and Sentinel class cutters are intended to replace 90 older Coast Guard ships—12 high-endurance cutters (WHECs), 29 medium-endurance cutters (WMECs), and 49 110-foot patrol craft (WPBs).

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