USCGC Charles Sexton (WPC-1108). US Coast Guard photo.

Below is a news release from District SE. 

This is an unusual report in that it sights the support of the vessel Ocean pictured below.

I am still uncomfortable with the designation HSC, Homeland Security Cutter. Cutter implies law enforcement authority this civilian manned ship does not have. How about USMV, United States Motor Vessel, or HSMV, Homeland Security Motor Vessel? Really I think US needs to be included in the designation as a US government vessel as it is in USS, USNS, or USCG. How about USHS or USCGV?

Homeland Security Cutter Ocean

This story was reported by US Naval Institute in the post, “George Washington CSG in the South China Sea After Philippine-Chinese Clashes.”

“We’re committed to supporting our treaty partners, and obviously we’ve already done quite a bit. In fact, there was a U.S. Coast Guard vessel in the region at the time that this happened and actually helped stand between the two sides and allowed the individual who was injured to be rescued and brought back for medical treatment,” Rubio told reporters on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ Meeting last week.

These Sentinel-class cutters were previously deployed to the Middle East but have since shifted to Southeast Asia since the start of the U.S.-Iran conflict.

US Coast Guard / CENTCOM released photo of weapons seized aboard an Iranian dhow on February 15 2024. The seizure included UUV and USV components. The annotations, highlighting possible UUV parts, have been added.

TWZ (The War Zone) reports,

From the ongoing conflict with Iran, to the Ukraine war and hotspots around the world, aerial drones have proven to be extremely dangerous and effective weapons and a mad rush is on to counter them. It is a technology race that makes headlines on a near daily basis. However, a similar but far quieter and less visible threat is emerging below the waves and now the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is looking to do more about it.

Faced with a growing threat from uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs), the USCG is seeking technology not just to detect these weapons, but to defeat them. Ports and other maritime facilities are vulnerable to this kind of attack vector, and our adversaries surely know it. The effort is being led by the Coast Guard Futures Development and Integration (FD&I) Directorate, which oversees research, modeling and simulation, technology forecasting, and field experimentation.

As glad as I am that someone is actually looking into this, I am surprised because, so far, the Coast Guard does not seem to have done anything, since the upgrades to the six FRCs that were assigned to PATFORSWA, to counter attacks by unmanned surface and air threats that are much easier to stage and probably more likely.

Is this just harbor defense or open ocean as well? Could this lead to the rebirth of the Coast Guard’s ASW mission?

I would think the Mk58 Very Light Weight Torpedo might be used. if so it might also be used against surface threats.

Coast Guard buoy tenders functioned as net tenders in WWII. Nets are a major project but they have had some success.

Attacking ships in port has always been an option, but we usually think in terms of air attacks, but the Italians were very successful attacking British ships in port using swimmer delivery vehicles. 

Related;

• “Mounting Ship Losses To Explosive USVs” –Covert Shores
• “Houthi’s Blowfish: Guide To Explosive USV Threat In Red Sea” –Covert Shores /
• Ruminating on an Attack on a US Port
• “Successful JAGM Quad Launcher Demo Showcases 90-Degree Vertical Launch And C-UAS Capabilities” –Lockheed Martin
• Invariant’s Surface-to-Air Kinetic Engagement (STAKE) system–Maybe Something the Coast Guard Needs
• Hellfire the Drone Killer

Arctic Exclusive Economic Zones. Note the location of the Arctic Circle inside the larger circle.. 

CIMSEC provides a look at the legal status of both the Arctic and Antarctic, contrasting the Maritime nature of the Arctic and the continental commons nature of the Antarctic. The post is written by a Coast Guard officer. “CDR Jake Brantley currently serves as Deputy Chief – Coast Guard Office of Future Plans and Operations (CG-35) at CG Headquarters.”

It is a concise look at two complicated subjects. Well worth the time. The accompanying charts here may be helpful.

Taiwan received Penghu (CG 1007) from the CSBC Corporation’s Keelung shipyard on July 21, 2026. Taiwan Coast Guard photo

The US Naval Institute News service reports the Taiwan Coast Guard has received the fifth of a class of six new Offshore Patrol Vessels.

The ship is a pretty typical Offshore Patrol Vessel. reportedly 2,077 tons full load with a speed of 24 knots and a range of 6,000 nautical miles.

What I found remarkable was the ship’s armament, a remote weapon station that can fire up to 42 rockets before being required to reload. It is called the NCSIST 2.75in rockets remote weapon station. These rockets are 70mm in diameter, the same as standard Hydra Rockets and APKWS. Turns out, these have been fitted to several Taiwan CG cutters in place of the Bofors 40mm gun they used previously.

NCSIST 2.75in rockets remote weapon station

There is no indication that the rockets used by this system are guided in any way. Even unguided rockets could be devastating at close range. It is almost certain that these mounts could fire guided rounds. They also have a flare illumination round that reportedly can burn up to five minutes.

System carried on Coast Guard Administration (Taiwan) vessel Anping-class offshore patrol vessel. This appears to be the breech, looking forward. 

I don’t see any electro-optics mounted on the remote weapon station, so presumably the fire control system is mounted separately.

Equipped with APKWS, this system could be very effective out to at least 8,000 yards.

The Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) returns to Seattle following a two-month Arctic patrol, Aug. 16, 2024. The Healy is the United States’ largest Polar icebreaker and was commissioned in 2000. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor Tracy)

Coast Guard News reports,

“WASHINGTON – U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Healy experienced a significant engineering casualty while operating northwest of Port Angeles, Washington. There were no reported injuries. On July 13^th, tugs safely towed CGC Healy back to homeport for an investigation into the incident and to undergo major repairs.”

Sounds like they already know this was a major casualty.

USCGC Midgett (WMSL 757) family members greet the cutter as it returns to home port at Coast Guard Base Honolulu, July 20, 2026. The cutter returned from a five-month deployment to the Western Pacific. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mikaela McGee)

Below is a news release. Two months used to be considered a long patrol. Are they going to have five months in port? The Navy routinely has deployments longer than this, but they don’t actually average as much underway time as cutters do.

Shows the kind of new demands the Coast Guard is getting.

gCaptain reports:

“The U.S. Coast Guard’s troubled Polar Security Cutter program faces further delays with a new government watchdog report projecting delivery of the first heavy icebreaker in March 2033, almost a decade later than originally planned.

“The recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report also raises fresh doubts that even the revised schedule can be met, citing unresolved construction risks, a planned 40% expansion of the shipyard workforce, and the lack of a fully validated production schedule.”

The good news,

“While the heavy icebreaker program continues to slip, the Coast Guard has made faster progress on its separate Arctic Security Cutter program. The first four medium icebreakers will be built in Finland, with deliveries scheduled to begin in late 2028. Those vessels are expected to provide a significant boost to U.S. polar capabilities several years before the first Polar Security Cutter is now expected to enter service.”

The Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters Building located in southeast Washington is shown from the aerial perspective of a Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter Aug. 21, 2015. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held July 29, 2013, which completed the first stage of the Department of Homeland Security consolidation project on the St. Elizabeths west campus.

US Naval Institute News Service reports,

A trio of Republican senators have introduced a bill to create Secretary of the Coast Guard and Undersecretary positions as the civilian head of the 43,000-member service, USNI News has learned.

According to the draft ‘‘Coast Guard Leadership Modernization Act’’ obtained by USNI News, the new Secretary of the Coast Guard position would report to the Secretary of Homeland Security and takeover many of the interactions the service had with the Pentagon, according to the bill text.

“…create Secretary of the Coast Guard and Undersecretary positions.” Unfortunately I do not think adding two more layers of expensive civilian bureaucracy is going to be helpful.

My observation, suggests that while the Coast Guard has bipartisan support in Congress other agencies in DHS frequently do not. Congress keeps asking what we need, but it appears the Department has held up reports Congress asked for. There has been strong pressure from GAO to keep the budget nearly constant with only small increases. The Department seems to have reacted by more strongly supporting other agencies in the Department assuming the Coast Guard would continue to be supported as it always has been. Evidence of this is the fact that almost every year Congress has added to the administrations’ Coast Guard budget requests.

The Coast Guard needs to be an independent agency. The Coast Guard’s eleven missions do not fit in any existing department. Six of eleven missions including SAR are not considered DHS missions.

There are at least 39 Independent Executive Agencies include NASA, the CIA, GSA, the postal service (UPS), the Social Security Administration. Many have budgets larger than that of the Coast Guard while many have much smaller budgets, so the size is right.

The Coast Guard can and does represent itself well before Congress. We don’t need to have our needs translated to Congress through a third party who has to be schooled on what the Coast Guard does.

Army Recognition’s Navy News reports,

The U.S. Marine Corps is introducing an automated weapon station into its Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (L-MADIS) to expand its ability to defeat hostile drones in expeditionary operations. The upgrade strengthens the Corps’ layered air defense network by adding a low-cost kinetic option alongside electronic warfare systems.

The new capability is designed to complement L-MADIS’ existing electronic attack tools, providing Marines with an additional means of engaging unmanned aerial systems when jamming alone is ineffective or unsuitable. The integration supports the Corps’ broader Ground-Based Air Defense modernization strategy, improving force protection while preserving more expensive missile interceptors for higher priority aerial threats.

This is the junior (light) version of MADIS. There is also a more capable version.

Since kamikaze drones are a threat that can emerge virtually anywhere, anytime, the Coast Guard needs to be prepared to counter them, both for self defense and for the protection of other assets.

U.S. Marines are adding an automated weapon station to LMADIS, expanding expeditionary counter-drone defenses with a new kinetic capability (Picture source: US DoD/ACS)

Certainly there are other alternatives, but since the Navy is buying this remote weapon station (RWS), it might be a good choice, in conjunction with the other elements of the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS). They could replace most of the crew-served .50 caliber mounts.

Frankly, I would think the 30mm M230 gun, which can use an air burst round would be better than a 7.62mm. Apparently this remote weapon station can also use the M230 or the .50 caliber. The 30mm has a longer range and higher first round kill probability. It is also more effective against other types of threats.

An air-burst round also means that misses to not continue on to who-knows-where and cause collateral damage. Since we might be using these inside a harbor that is an important consideration.

Mast on PATFORSWA WPC

We already have what looks like the same type radars on the six Webber class WPBs that were assigned to PATFORSWA.

I would think every cutter WPC and larger should have the MADIS radars, EW, and two remote weapon stations. Every cutter should have at least one remote weapon station. The electro-optic that are included in the RWS provide other advantages as well including for man-over-board, navigation, and SAR.