There has been a report that the Colombians are purchasing two subs from Germany, and that “The U206s are critical to Colombia’s fight against the drug gangs’ semi-submersible vessels.”
I also see a need for ASW assets to deal with the problem, but the Type 206A subs are tiny, slow, and old enough to be Coast Guard Cutters (They have crossed the Atlantic for exercises). The newest entered service in 1975. Their systems have been updated, they do have passive detection systems, but there have got to be easier and cheaper ways to detect drug subs and self propelled semi-submersibles.
It will be interesting to see how they are actually used. If this does work, will the Coast Guard get their own subs?
(Photo credit Zatoichi1564 (talk) via Wikimedia Commons)
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
I can’t imagine the thought of the US Coast Guard ever getting their own Submarine fleet. Though maybe in a not to distant future, we can see the day were the US Coast Guard get’s a small compact Coastal littoral Sub like the Type 206A for Coastal Surveillance, counter drug or even Coastal & EEZ patrol. Maybe the US navy can make a deal where the run the deep Blue water submarine ops and the US Coast Guard runs the Littoral Submarine ops such as acting as Gate guards to the US EEZ.
Nicky, I was just being facetious.
Okay, but who knows in the Future say 25 to 50 yrs down the road, that the US Coast Guard may one day run it’s own Coastal Submarine fleet for Coastal & EEZ patrols.
We’ve come close in the past…the buck and a quarters seemed to want to submerge.
Lets leave the subs to the navy, though going back to cutters carrying depth charges would slow.down those drug subs
Grenades would probably do the job, but there will probably always be is some question as to whose sub it is.
Maybe the USCG may someday operate underwater UAV’s to find and detect Narco Subs
Who knows, Maybe in a distant Future the USCG can operate the Andrasta SSK for Coastal and littoral work. Even used for Surveillance work as well
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/andrasta-submarine/
Nicky you really are in dream land. You know nothing about the Coast Guard. We just had 2 NSC’s cancelled, our fleet is old and breaking down and you think the Coast Guard should operate “littoral combat subs”, really??? Try to understand, we don’t need the Coast Guard to try to be the Navy. We have the Navy for that. We don’t need our Cutters to be armed to the teeth, although our cutters do need more capability than they currently have. It’s not the Coast Guard’s job to fight and destroy 3rd world navies. That’s the Navy’s role. It’s our job to support and augment the Navy during wartime. Our peacetime missions make it impractical to carry all sorts of advanced weapon systems on our cutters. Although bringing back ASW capability would be good. The Coast Guard needs the 2 canceled NSC’s and the OPC, not submarines. Try to be realistic. Jeez.
All I am saying is that maybe in 50 to 100 yrs down the road the US Coast Guard may have Underwater UAV capability. Which would mean Remote operated Submarines for long Range surveillance that can be operated from an NSC, OPC or FRC. Much like the Predator or Global Hawk. It would be a way of doing Long Range and over the Horizon Underwater Surveillance from a cutter.
This is what I was thinking about, the prospect of the USCG of operating a Underwater UAV fleet for surveillance and reconnaissance. Imagine a NSC cutter having four Remotely operated Underwater UAV and using them for over the horizon search and surveillance, while the NSC cutter acts as a MAC station for the underwater UAV submarine.
http://auvac.org/explore-database/simple-search
How about we tackle AUV’s after we reduce the average combined age of our assets to within 150% of their intended service life.
Not sure where I read it but maybe Commandant Papp needs to openly ask which mission(s) the whitehouse would like to eliminate along with the eliminated assets? Of course that would cause him to lose his job. There has to be a way to make the public get behind the CG and the real need to modernize the fleet.
The Commandant has been pushing pretty hard, but he doesn’t seem to have gotten much help. I see no articles in “Proceedings” or in the Navy League’s magazine “Sea Power” that go beyond how wonderful the new ships are.
Fact is we need at least $700M more every year in the AC&I account just to keep up.
Can we remind the Public, White house and Congress about Katrina, Rita, BP oil Spill and what the US Coast Guard as done
The only press we get is on the weather channels show and that focuses on rescue swimmers.
Napolatano is just another political appointee, no help at all!
That’s why the USCG should either become a separate branch of it’s own or become part of the US Navy like the USMC under the DoD.