A Saildrone Voyager is pictured on Lake Erie, as part of a new deployment with the Coast Guard. in the Great Lakes and North Atlantic. (Saildrone) You can see the radar and what is probably an electro-optic sensor all powered by solar cells and batteries.

Breaking Defense reports,

The Coast Guard is deploying more than a dozen Saildrone Voyagerunmanned surface vessels (USVs) to the Great Lakes and the North Atlantic region in an effort to bolster maritime domain awareness.

The Voyager is equipped to conduct persistent coastal surveillance and nearshore mapping missions while remaining at sea for roughly 100 days at a time, according to the unmanned maritime systems manufacturer. In the Great Lakes, the unmanned vessels will support border security operations through monitoring and flagging suspicious activity, while in the North Atlantic,the vessels will assist Coast Guard efforts countering illegal fishing.

While these are floating assets their role is surveillance so they are more a supplement to our fixed wing aircraft than a replacement for ships. They are particularly appropriate for maintaining persistent surveillance of a relatively small area of interest.

GULF OF AQABA (Feb. 13, 2022) The U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class cutter USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144) sails near a U.S sail drone explorer during the International Maritime Exercise/Cutlass Express (IMX) 2022, Feb. 13, 2022. IMX/CE 2022 is the largest multinational training event in the Middle East, involving more than 60 nations and international organizations committed to enhancing partnerships and interoperability to strengthen maritime security and stability. (U.S. Army photo by Cpl. DeAndre Dawkins)

• “U.S., U.K. Navies Conduct Unmanned Exercise in Arabian Gulf” –Seapower / and the Coast Guard is There, Oct.2022

It appears the Coast Guard has benefited from working with both 5th Fleet and 4th Fleet, as they have pioneered use of USVs in addition to the Coast Guard’s independent development.

• “Operation Southern Spear: Latest Development in Operationalizing Robotic and Autonomous Systems” –4th Fleet, Jan. 2025
• “Navy’s 4th Fleet sets sights on command center upgrades for drone ops” –Defense Scoop, Jan. 2024
• “C4F’s Hybrid Fleet Completes Target Detection Test” –4th Fleet, Nov. 2023
• Saildrones Set Sail in Support of U.S. 4th Fleet’s Operation Windward Stack” –4th Fleet, Sep. 2023
• 
• “Coast Guard and Navy commands formalize support for Research and Development Center autonomous vessels” –CG-9, Jan. 2023
• “Saildrone Showcased Its USVs At Sea Air Space 2021 For The First Time” –Naval News, Aug. 2021
• “RDC concludes Low Cost Maritime Domain Awareness Pilot Study” –CG-9, Dec. 2020
• Coast Guard will begin testing unmanned surface vehicles off Hawaii, Oct.2020

Thanks to jmoskalik who passed along this report in a comment on previous post. I thought it was important enough to justify separate post.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bailey Barco (WPC 1122), a fast response cutter, patrols the waters near Unalaska, Alaska, while providing a security escort for the USS Kentucky, an Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine, August 24, 2017. The Bailey Barco, homeported in Ketchikan, Alaska, is the first Coast Guard fast response cutter to transit the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ens. Brandon Newman

The Ketchikan Daily News republished by the Juneau Independent reports that,

“The Coast Guard cutters John McCormick and Bailey Barco ‘are currently completing short-duration deployments to the United States’ southern border,’ Travis Magee, a spokesperson for the U.S.Coast Guard Arctic District, said Thursday in an email to the Ketchikan Daily News.  

“’These operations are part of the Coast Guard’s commitment to secure the U.S. maritime border and its approaches,’ Magee said.”

I have long felt PACAREA has not received their fair share of resources. This unusual move seems to support that contention, but was this really the best way address a shortfall–if there was one?

About 85% of the US EEZ is in Pacific Area, but they have only nine large patrol cutters (6 NSCs and 3 WMECs) while Atlantic are has four NSCs and 19 WMECs for a total of 23 large patrol cutters. Currently Pacific Area has only 19 FRCs while Atlantic Area districts have 36. (Six additional FRCs are assigned to PATFORSWA.) District SE has more FRCs than all of Pacific Area combined.

I have been posting reports of West Coast migrant interdictions since February 2025 adding them as comments to an earlier report, and it seems that while there has been a surge, it has been local, concentrated around San Diego. The local Coast Guard units have been quite successful in interdicting alien smugglers.

USCGC John McCormick (WPC 1121) did interdict 36 suspected aliens approximately 22 miles offshore of San Diego.

It is not clear from the report how long WPC 1121 was away from homeport.

I found no indication that Bailey Barco made any interdictions, but she just got to San Diego June 7 after an 8 or 9 day transit.

There is no way these deployments will not have affected District Arctic operations.

Thanks to David for bringing this to my attention.

CGNR 2019 departs the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facility in Marietta, Georgia, on April 14, 2026, for the Coast Guard Aviation Projects Acquisition Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where warranty and logistics flights were conducted before the aircraft’s induction into the missionization process. Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin.

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

The United States Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757) and the Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702) sail in formation as seen from BRP Antonio Luna (FFG15) during the recent Maritime Cooperative Activity (Credit: Armed Forces of Philippines)

US Naval Institute News reports,

The Philippines is set to receive transfers of American and Japanese vessels to bolster its Coast Guard and Navy fleets operating in the South China Sea.

American and Japanese defense officials pledged to reinforce Manila’s fleet with recently and soon-to-be decommissioned vessels over the weekend following talks on the sidelines of the International Institute of Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore held Friday to Sunday.

Specifically the post states that the Philippine Coast Guard will be receiving a WMEC210, presumably one of those already decommissioned or in commission special at the Coast Guard Yard.

The Philippine Coast Guard has been growing rapidly. It is actually larger than the Philippine Navy in terms of personnel and much the equipment is relatively new with more on the way..

• “Philippine Coast Guard to Receive 40 Patrol Boats from France in $438 Million ODA Project” –USNI
• Philippines’ New 94 Meter Cutter and the Japanese Kunigami Class Cutters
• Japan to Build Five Large Cutters for Philippine Coast Guard

The Philippine CG is now about 70% the size of the US Coast Guard. The Philippine EEZ is about 20% the size of that of the US, but they face constant challenges from China’s Coast Guard, maritime militia, and fishing fleet. They still have relatively few large cutters. I am sure one or more WMEC210s would be welcome, and because they relatively simple ships, they should be relatively easy to maintain in spite of their advanced age.

A final note, the Philippine Coast Guard is procuring 30 mm guns in remote weapons stations to arm their soon to be seven 97 meter Japanese built cutters.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1548584973716116

Today, Battleship Texas participated in the Davie Defense – Gulf Copper groundbreaking for the Coast Guard icebreaker production facility coming to Galveston, Texas. The ceremony concluded with a blast from the historic ship’s whistle and blank firing of the massive 14″ guns.

Really it is Coast Guard related. I had to post it.

The Coast Guard has started activities to eventually replace the response boat-small II, the current workhorse of the Coast Guard’s boat fleet, here patrolling coastal waters. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jon-Paul Rios.

Below is a release from the Acquisitions Directorate, CG-9.

June 1, 2026 —

The Coast Guard on April 28 accepted delivery of four demonstration boats that will be used to generate operator feedback that will help inform the requirements and specifications for the next generation of response boats-small (RB-S).

Delivered to Coast Guard Base Charleston in North Charleston, South Carolina, the four boats will be operated by multiple Coast Guard crews to identify features or equipment that enhance mission performance. The boats will be used to develop and validate performance requirements, assess industry capabilities and gather information about the marketplace. The Coast Guard will then transition to developing the requirements for the third-generation RB-S. The upcoming RB-S III program will replace the approximately 350 RB-S II vessels in operation across the Coast Guard.

Following the Jan. 8, 2026, contract award, each of four contractors delivered one demonstrator boat, ranging in length from approximately 29 to 37 feet. Each of the boats is powered by twin outboard engines producing up to 600 horsepower.

The contractors are:

• Birdon America Inc. of Denver, Colorado.
• Gravois Aluminum Boats LLC of Jeanerette, Louisiana, doing business as Metal Shark Boats.
• Inventech Marine Solutions LLC of Bremerton, Washington.
• SAFE Boats International of Bremerton, Washington.

The RB-S II is the workhorse of the Coast Guard’s boat fleet and the second generation of this platform. This fleet patrols coastal waters and is approaching the end of its service life. Coast Guard boats support a wide range of crucial missions, including drug and alien interdiction; living marine resources; defense readiness; search and rescue; other law enforcement; aids to navigation; and ports, waterways and coastal security.

For more information: Boat Acquisition Program

Eastern Shipbuilding, Argus and Chase building. June 2021.

US Naval Institute reports, “Coast Guard, Eastern Shipbuilding Negotiating ‘Contract Resolution’ on First 2 Offshore Patrol Cutters.”

The post includes the following statement,

According to Coast Guard budget documents, Argus and Chase are set to deliver this year, though its unclear how complete the cutters are.

I will go out on a limb and state there is not a chance in hell of Argus and Chase being delivered this year. I have been told that Argus was actually launched prematurely (October 2023) to quiet questions about progress on the program. I don’t believe Argus has ever gotten underway.  There have been no reports of it conducting sea trials. Apparently Chase has not even been launched yet.

Eastern did spend some money to improve their facilities in 2024, but providing 1,000 linear feet of additional bulkhead and berthing space and lengthening the launch facility from 380 to 500 feet, did not seem to be aimed at speeding up OPC construction.

This was in contrast to what we have seen from Austal. From Austal’s website 2024,

“Through continual capital investments, over $500 million to date, Austal USA has expanded its capability and capacity to enable concurrent production of aluminum and steel ships. The company recently broke ground on a new assembly building which will provide 192,000 square feet of new covered manufacturing space.  The building will consist of three bays, two of which will be sized specifically to erect the OPC.”

Eastern did not assemble their OPCs in a building.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group was contracted to build the first four offshore patrol cutters. The first ship, Argus, was expected to be delivered by the end of 2022. (Eastern Shipbuilding Group photo)

“The ongoing talks come as Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has put a hold on all Coast Guard promotions over questions on shipbuilding contracting and lack of information from the service, Scott’s office confirmed to USNI News late last week. In a statement, Scott said the hold was the result of 18 months of unanswered questions over the status of Coast Guard contracting that includes the status of Argus and Chase.”

Despite Scott’s statement, “I don’t care what that resolution looks like, we just need a resolution.” To me that sounds an awful like putting a thumb on the scales of any negotiations between Eastern and the Coast Guard, putting pressure on the Coast Guard to meet Eastern’s demands.

To put things in perspective, this is the sequence of events:

• August 2010 Federal Times reports the Coast Guard is meeting with ship builders interested in participating in the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program, August 10-20.
• 15 June 2012 Coast Guard released a draft “request for proposal” (RFP) for the construction of the Offshore Patrol Cutters. Unltimately eight shipyards would offer proposals. (The initial request included that the ship had to be ice strengthened.)
• February 2014 The Acquisitions Directorate has announced the three winners of contracts to develop preliminary and design contracts for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC)
• April 2014, Eastern exhibited its proposal for the OPC at Sea, Air, Space 2014. At that time the concept was ten meters shorter, about 328 feet.
• 15 Sept., 2016 Contract awarded to Eastern. “…production of up to nine OPCs and has a potential value of $2.38 billion if all options are exercised” equals $264.4M/ship
• 21 July, 2017 Initial critical design review completed.
• 29 June 2018 Passed critical design review.
• Sept. 28, 2018 Construction contract awarded for first OPC and long lead time items for second OPC.
• Jan. 7, 2019 Steel was cut. USCGC Argus OPC#1
• 27 April, 2020 Steel cut for OPC#2
• April 28, 2020 Keel laid for USCGC Argus OPC#1
• 27 May 2021 Keel was laid for USCGC Chase OPC#2
• May 2021 Contract for construction of the third OPC and long lead time items for OPC#4 was awarded
• 27 Sept., 2021 Steel cut for OPC#3 USCGC Ingham
• 30 June 2022 Contract with options awarded to Austal for OPCs #5-15
• July 15, 2022 Keel laid for OPC#3 USCGC Ingham
• 18 October 2022 Eastern started cutting steel for USCGC Rush OPC#4
• 27 October 2023 USCGC Argus OPC#1 launched
• 7 June 2024 stop work order was issued on OPCs #3 and 4
• 29 August 2024 Steel cut for USCGC Pickering OPC#5
• June 2025 RFI for Towing and Assessment, Sounds Like an OPC (Presumably OPC#1)
• July 2025 DHS Cancels Contract with Eastern for OPCs #3 and 4
• 5 August 2025, Steel was cut for USCGC Icarus (920) OPC#6
• 8 December 2025 Keel laid for USCGC Pickering OPC#5

USCGC Storis (WAGB 21) and USCGC Waesche (WMSL 751) conduct a proof‑of‑concept fueling‑at‑sea evolution while moored in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, May 1, 2026. The evolution marked a successful operation as first of its kind with a new Polar Asset. (U.S. Coast Guard photo via shipboard drone by Lt. j.g. Genzo Matua Gonzales)

Below is a news release.

Very pleased to see they have the V-BAT UAS. We knew they were coming (“Potential $198.1M Contract Award for Cutter-Based V-BAT UAS,” June 2024) and have seen V-BAT on other cutters. It is more capable than Scan Eagle and requires no catapult or recovery hardware. While the contract was for “Contractor Owned Contractor Operated (COCO)” services, it did include provision for service pilot and mission training. Since the photo above is “…via shipboard drone by Lt. j.g. Genzo Matua Gonzales” I hope that means we now have service members piloting some of these UAS.

The photo of the above may show that USCGC Storis has the equipment to do astern refueling but doing it tied up in port is much different from doing it underway, particularly if someone must tend the hose on the aft deck in a rough sea. The photo also shows the low freeboard aft that was one of the reasons the Coast Guard was hesitant to purchase the ship. I still have hopes the Coast guard may yet move the flight deck aft and enclose what is now an open cargo deck aft.

I cannot see National Security Cutters needing to refuel underway from Storis, but perhaps in a quiet cove she could refuel FRCs.

Waterways Commerce Cutters

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

May 29, 2026 —

The Coast Guard authenticated the keels for three future waterways commerce cutters (WCCs) March 6 at Birdon America’s shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.

Coast Guard cutters Allen Thiele, Fred Permenter and Samuel Wilson are the first three of 30 WCCs that will replace the Coast Guard’s legacy inland tender fleet. The new cutters will strengthen the service’s ability to facilitate maritime commerce vital to economic security, strategic mobility and national defense.

The WCC fleet will help control, secure and defend the nation’s ports and waterways while maintaining the United States’ 12,000-mile marine transportation system. This critical network supports more than $5.4 trillion in annual economic activity and millions of American jobs.

In a special proceeding, the keels were authenticated simultaneously – a departure from the traditional single-vessel ceremony. Keel authentication is a longstanding maritime tradition in which a ship’s sponsor welds their initials onto a ceremonial plate permanently affixed to the cutter, symbolizing the start of the vessel’s construction. The cutters authenticated included the leads for both the river buoy and inland construction tender variants.

The new fleet has been designated the Chief Petty Officer class, with each cutter named in honor of a distinguished Coast Guard senior enlisted leader. The namesakes for the first three WCCs:

• Master Chief Petty Officer Allen Thiele, a boatswain’s mate, served in the Coast Guard from 1958 to 1990 and was selected as the fifth master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard.
• Chief Petty Officer Fred Permenter, a boatswain’s mate, received the Gold Lifesaving Medal in 1952 for rescuing four of five crew members when the St. George Reef Light motor launch capsized while being lowered in heavy seas.
• Chief Petty Officer Samuel Wilson, a boatswain’s mate, received the Coast Guard Medal of Extraordinary Heroism in 1979 for helping rescue 81 crew members from the Japanese fishing vessel Ryuyo Maru No. 2 after it ran aground on St. Paul Island, Bering Sea, Alaska.

Acquisition of the WCC fleet is supported in part by funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the largest single funding commitment in Coast Guard history. The law provided $162 million to accelerate production and deliver three cutters ahead of schedule.

The first waterways commerce cutter is expected to be completed in 2027.

For more information: Waterways Commerce Cutter Program page

We currently have 61 Webber class in commission with assigned homeports. One FRC, USCGC Benjamin (WPC-1123) was decommissioned after a shipyard fire. Wikipedia shows FRC 1163 will be home-ported in Guam and 1164 in San Pedro. This leaves us with 13 ships, 1165-1177, with as yet unknown homeports.

Current assignments for each district including the projected homeports for 1163 and 1164, are as follows:

• NE: Boston–6; TOTAL–6
• East: Cape May, NJ–3; Atlantic Beach, NC–2; TOTAL–5
• SE: Miami, FL–6; Key West, FL–6; St. Petersburg, FL–1; San Juan, PR–7; TOTAL–20
• Heartland: Galveston, TX–3; Pascagoula, MS–2; TOTAL–5
• SW: San Pedro, CA–5; TOTAL–5
• NW: Astoria, OR–2; TOTAL–2
• Oceania: Honolulu, HI–3; Santa Rita, Guam–5; TOTAL 8
• Arctic: Ketchikan, AK–3; Kodiak, AK–3; TOTAL–6
• PATFORSWA: Bahrain–6

Only the Great Lakes district has none, but they do have six 140 foot icebreaking tugs that can perform missions similar to those WPC are normally assigned.

A quick look at the list suggests a clear preference for basing in multiples of three, either three or six. Given that boats of the class are expected to be underway 2500 hours a year or about 104 days/year, three boats can keep one boat underway most the year–one in maintenance, one in work-up or standby, and one underway–with only short periods without one of the three underway, including logistics stops to resupply which may be away from home port.

It seems like one more boat will be added where there are currently only two or only 5, Atlantic Beach, Pascagoula, San Pedro, Astoria, and Guam. That would leave 8 without designated homeports.

The NW district is conspicuous as the only district (other than Great Lakes) with so few FRCs, two now but probably three relatively soon. There is a good possibility three will be based in Washington. If so that would leave us with five unassigned.

There have been suggestions the Coast Guard will establish a base in American Samoa. If three FRCs are assigned there, that would leave only two unassigned.

St. Petersburg stands out as the only location with only a single FRC (although two of the FRCs in Alaska are likely to be reassigned to Seward and Sitka). Two more in St Pete would account for all 77 of the currently planned Webber class cutters.

If we get more than currently planned, we might consider basing some in Corpus Christi, the Chesapeake Bay, and/or the San Francisco Bay Area.