An MQ-9 Sea Guardian unmanned maritime surveillance aircraft system flies over the Pacific Ocean during U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem (UxS IBP) 21, April 21. UxS IBP 21 integrates manned and unmanned capabilities into challenging operational scenarios to generate warfighting advantages. US Navy Photo

Below is a CG HQ news release.

Can’t tell you how long I have been hoping to see this happen, but a land based long endurance UAV was a part of the of the Deepwater program.

Deepwater Concept, https://cgaviationhistory.org/2002-initial-contracts-for-the-deepwater-project-awarded/

Presumably this is the Sea Guardian version of the MQ-9B. This will provide a big boost for  maritime domain awareness and they even have the potential for being used for ASW.

Mk38 Mod4 Gun Weapon System. MSI-Defense Systems

Army Recognition’s Navy News reports,

“The U.S. Navy is expanding its Mk 38 Mod 4 30mm gun inventory to give warships a lower-cost option for defeating drones and other small threats without relying immediately on expensive surface-to-air missiles. The latest production tranche adds 22 Mk 88 Mod 4 mounts, while current public procurement reporting places cumulative Mk 38 Mod 4 production orders at 55 mounts when earlier buys are included.”

The contract referred to here is actually for three years and is not limited to 22 systems.

This is good news, but how long before the Coast Guard sees 30mm Mk38 Mod4s? That will depend on Navy priorities and the build rate for these systems.

Navy priorities:

Right now, only one destroyer has 30mm Mk38 Mod4 mounts. It is the only current mod4 installation I know about, but there are certain to be more soon. It appears giving destroyers the Mk38 Mod 4 is their first priority, even though Destroyers have other more capable systems–Standard Missiles, ESSM, 5″ guns, Phalanx, and in some cases SeaRam. The Navy would like to conserve the more expensive weapons, but destroyer COs are unlikely to wait until the threat is in range of the Mk38 Mod4, about 3000 yards, before engaging. The Coast Guard does not have that problem

(Expect about 170 systems for destroyers.)

The Navy is not likely to stop with destroyers. We can expect the Mk38 Mod4 to go on Carriers and Big Deck Amphibs

(Expect 40 to 80 systems for CV/LHA/LHDs).

If they start arming MSC underway replenishment ships or the new LSMs with the Mod 4, it could add about one hundred more.

LCS and LPDs might get Mk38 Mod4s but they already have provision for a different type of 30mm mount the Mk46.

Coast Guard priorities:

The Navy no longer provides security to most US ports. The Coast Guard has always had a role in protecting ports, but with the creation of DHS it has become more prominent. The Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security mission has become a major consideration in how the Coast Guard should be armed. Unmanned surface and air systems have emerged as a primary threat from terrorists or at the onset of hostilities.

The 30mm gun using air burst ammunition is now a primary hard kill system vs these threats. In addition to being a more effective defense, unlike the more common .50 caliber and 25mm, the 30mm air burst rounds can self destruct making collateral damage less likely. Since we may be firing inside a US port this becomes very important.

The Polar Security Cutters are slated to have two 30mm Mk38 Mod4s, but that is the only commitment so far. Hopefully it will also mean the Arctic Security Cutters will get at least one. That is not as well armed as I would like, Arctic Security Cutters should be armed like the OPCs, but it is a credible self defense capability.

The OPCs are still expected to get Mk38 Mod3s. A Mod4 mount would be better. Really I would like to see a SeaRAM in that position on the hangar and a couple of 30mm mod4 mounts sited elsewhere, but neither looks likely. At least the OPCs like the NSCs has the 57mm gun.

The NSCs could probably use a pair of Mod4 mounts, but the larger ships are less likely to be involved in force protection or defending an asset in a port than are the WPCs.

Webber class WPCs should have the highest priority in receiving a 30mm. Because of their large numbers and their normal patrol areas, they are the assets most likely to be called upon for a Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security mission response vs UAS or USV. Larger ships are too limited in number and are more likely to be far from the ports or in maintenance when needed.

An Alternative:

Since the Mod 4 mounts are completely different from the earlier mounts, as they replace older, but still working, mounts on the destroyers it will be tempting to pass the old 25mm mounts to the Coast Guard rather than provide new Mod4 mounts, especially since it will be years before the Navy’s requirements are satisfied.

The Coast Guard has a long history of using Navy “hand-me-downs” and they were fine for peacetime law enforcement, but the 25mm is a far less capable against the most likely threats to Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security. We need the most appropriate weapon and that is currently the 30mm. It is being adopted by the Army and Marine Corps as well as the Navy.

The Mk38 Mod2/3 is based on the Israeli Typhoon gun mount which can support weapons up to and including the 30mm Mk44.

• Counter-Air Plus w/ interchangeable 25/30mm cannon,
• APKWS
• Ready for 30mm Air Burst Munition/Proximity Fuzed Ammunition

When the Navy takes Mk38 Mod2/3 off destroyers they could have them refurbished with 30mm guns and maybe APKWS.

30mm is also significantly more effective against small craft than the 25mm (“nine times the damage to the hull and five times the damage inside the hull”).

U.S. Coast Guard recruits train at Training Center Cape May, New Jersey, the Service’s sole enlisted accession point and basic training center. (U.S. Coast Guard photo) (Love the photo. Going through the Academy I always thought I had been yelled at by the best, but I may have been wrong.)

Below is a CG HQ news release. Good to see that the growth of the recruiting staff that began during Admiral Fagan’s administration is continuing and bearing fruit.

I am curious about the reported opening of a recruiting office in the Netherlands. There are certainly a number of good sailors going through the Netherlands, but it is still surprising that we have a recruiting office outside the US.

Presumably the addition of “346 active-duty officers, the second highest number in recorded Coast Guard history” refers to the post WWII period.

I still have not seen a listing of where the 15,000 additional are expected to go.

We have already commissioned five Webber class WPCs during 2026 and there may be a sixth before the year ends. Looks like the first OPC will deliver next year. We may see the first Arctic Security Cutters by 2028. Things are looking up.

The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Jeffrey Palazzo mans the rail during the fast response cutter’s commissioning ceremony Sept. 12, 2026, in New York City. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Below is a report from Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9).

Oct. 5, 2026 —

The Coast Guard commissioned its newest fast response cutter (FRC), Coast Guard Cutter Jeffrey Palazzo, on Sept. 12 in New York City. Jeffrey Palazzo is the 63rd FRC delivered to the Coast Guard and the fifth to be homeported in Apra Harbor, Guam.

Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard, presided over the ceremony. Members of the Palazzo family in attendance included the cutter’s sponsor, Lisa Palazzo, widow of the ship’s namesake, the late Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Palazzo, and their three children.

The couple’s youngest child, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Palazzo, served as the long glass presenter. During Coast Guard commissioning ceremonies, a designated person presents the ship’s spyglass, or “long glass,” to the newly appointed commanding officer, a traditional moment that marks the cutter being brought to life.

The Coast Guard commissions a new cutter after it has been delivered and undergone months of preparation, training and testing to ensure readiness for operational missions. Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who performed extraordinary service in the line of duty and whose life and death embodied the Coast Guard core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty.

Palazzo’s Coast Guard career began in 1988 at Coast Guard Station Rockaway in New York, where he was assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Cape Horn. Palazzo served eight years on active duty before joining the New York City Fire Department and becoming a Coast Guard reservist.

As a reservist, Palazzo responded to several large-scale emergencies, including the sinking of the Bronx Queen in the winter of 1989, when he and his fellow crew members saved 17 passengers.

As a member of the New York City Fire Department’s elite Rescue Squad 5, Palazzo was on duty the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and was part of the crew that responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center.

The 154-foot Sentinel-class FRC fleet replaced the 1980s-era 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. Like other FRCs commissioned to date, Jeffrey Palazzo is equipped with state-of-the-art command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, as well as other advanced systems, and has a standard crew of 24.

FRCs are a key component of the Coast Guard’s major cutter fleet and can deploy independently to conduct missions including port, waterways and coastal security; fisheries patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. These missions often include apprehending suspected drug smugglers, interdicting drugs and disrupting the maritime activities of transnational criminal organizations.

Sixty-two FRCs are in service: 14 in Florida, six each in Alaska, Western Pacific and Massachusetts; five each in Puerto Rico and Guam; four in California; three each in Hawaii, Texas, New Jersey and Mississippi; and two each in North Carolina and Oregon.

An aerial view of ongoing construction at Coast Guard Base Charleston, where the Coast Guard recently awarded a $230 million contract for new operational support facilities as part of a multi-year infrastructure expansion plan. Recent projects include construction of a 90,000-square-foot engineering complex, a 120,000-square-foot multifunctional building, a new parking structure, recapitalization of Pier Mike, and a new medical and dental facility. These efforts are part of more than $440 million in upgrades to transform Base Charleston into a premier East Coast operational base. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Below is a CGHQ news release. The photo and caption above accompanied an earlier news release.“U.S. Coast Guard announces $230 million contract for Base Charleston facilities, awarding over $440 million in recent infrastructure upgrades”

Above is a news report that a Coast Guard unit on the Rio Grande River was fired upon and returned fire.

This action took place Saturday, September 26,2026. There were injuries to Coast Guard personnel and no damage to Coast Guard property.

In reaction, both the US and Mexico are deploying additional troops along the border.

I find it odd there was no report of this incident on the normal Coast Guard public information outlets included in my list of recommended blogs.

Thanks to Lee for bringing this to my attention. 

Since the Coast Guard is already using V-Bat, wanted to pass along this video.

Infographic of the OPV prepared by Republic of Singapore Navy (click on to enlarge)

Naval News reports the launch of the first of four new OPVs for Singapore.

These are the third step in the evolution of OPVs designed by Fassmer. The first were 80 meter ships built by Chile and Colombia. 

Chilean OPV84, Cabo Odger

The second were 86 meter OPVs built for the German national police. 

Photo credit: katoult

The Singapore OPVs have made some interesting choices.

• They have fenders or what I would call rub strips over about half the length of the hull. We have seen these on previous class of Singapore patrol vessels.
• They have a flight deck for a medium size helicopter but no hangar.
• There are at least three areas where containers can be stowed include in the area that would normally be a helicopter hangar.
• The armament is relatively heavy with two 30mm remote weapons stations and a Strales equipped 76mm that can fire radio guided DART and extended range “Volcano” rounds. The 76mm was reportedly chosen to replace the 57mm used on the earlier 86 meter German ships, not because of the caliber, but because of the variety of ammunition available for the 76mm

I have added below some photos of an earlier story from Naval News that provide a better look at some of the features of the design.

Dual RHIB launch bays.

This area just forward of the flight deck is configured for the storage of containers. Also visible are the 30mm remote weapon stations and the water cannon. 

“The Fassmer OPV90 Mk II is an evolution of the 86 Metre Offshore Patrol Vessel in service with the German Federal Police (Bundespolizei).” Note fender/rub strips on the hull.

Below is an Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9) report.

This will mean 20 FRCs are stationed in District SE.

WPCs 1162 and 1163, already accepted but not yet commissioned, will be going to Guam raising the total there to six and the total for District Oceania to nine.

Originally six WPCs 1113 to 1118 were based in Puerto Rico but apparently there have some changes to homeports.

Coast Guard accepts 64th fast response cutter, Marvin Perrett

U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Alert (WMEC-630) and Charles Sexton (WPC-1108) escort the motor vessel Grace in early September 2026. The Coast Guard interdicted the vessel following a coordinated international enforcement operation concerning its suspected illicit transport of fuel to Cuba. The vessel was later escorted to Progreso, Mexico, where a Mexican Navy inspection team confirmed the presence of large quantities of fuel in its ballast tanks. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

This is unusual. Below is a news release from CG HQ. No indication in the release as to why the Mexican Navy was involved. I suspect that Mexico was the last port of call. No flag state is reported, but it appears she was last registered in COMOROS, an independent volcanic island nation, located in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa, at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel between Mozambique and Madagascar.

Obviously M/V Grace is not a tanker.

Most interestingly the release seems to indicate that this is a continuing operation.