An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew based out of Air Station Kodiak and
deployed aboard Cutter Alex Haley, prepares for a helicopter in-flight refueling at sea evolution with the cutter crew during a search and rescue case near Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The crew hoisted an injured fisherman from the vessel Magnus Martens and placed him in the care of awaiting Guardian Flight Alaska personnel for further transport to Anchorage. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Benjamin DeGroot)

National Defense reports,

“With an aging aircraft fleet under scrutiny and the phase-out of an older airframe, the Coast Guard has stopped sending its cutters to sea in the Arctic with helicopters onboard.”

We are not just talking about icebreakers. When a US government entity says the “Arctic” they include the  Aleutians and Bering Sea, even though they are below the Arctic Circle so this really means no helicopters on any Coast Guard vessels in District 17 (Alaska).

http://www.state.gov/e/oes/ocns/opa/arc/uschair/258202.htm . This map of the Arctic was created by State Department geographers as part of the U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council.

Cutters carried helicopters for two reasons, for reconnaissance and as a mobile SAR air station. All the National Security Cutters (NSC) now have unmanned air systems (drones) that are more effective search aircraft than helicopters. Hopefully USCGC Alex Haley (WMEC-39) (really a high endurance cutter) which is home-ported in Kodiak will also be so equipped if it is not already.

Rather than having helicopters on ships which are increasingly going North of the Bering Strait, far from most fishing vessels, the helicopters will be forward deployed.

“Coast Guard District 17 and Air Station Kodiak maximized aviation forward operating sites staffed by shipboard landing capable MH-60T crews in Kotzebue, Cold Bay and Prince William Sound, a model that streamlines search-and-rescue response and enables flexible movement of the helicopter crews in support of deployed Coast Guard cutters and seasonal mission demands,” officials said in a statement provided to National Defense.

This will keep the helicopters nearer the concentrations of population and fishing vessels. Because they are shipboard capable MH-60Ts, they will have longer range than the H-65s that had been deployed on ships, and will still be able to use cutters to extend their range by HIFR (Helicopter In Flight Refueling) or by transit on a cutter’s flight deck to get within range.

The announcement makes it sound like the Coast Guard will be less capable of responding than they were before, but really this seems to be a net improvement based on the incorporation of more capable assets–Unmanned Air Systems and more numerous longer ranged helicopters.

Officials with Coast Guard headquarters said the change was made in summer 2024 as Air Station Kodiak phased out four retiring MH-65 Dolphin helicopters and transitioned to the newer MH-60T Jayhawk. The base now operates six Jayhawks and will eventually have nine, officials said. (emphasis applied–Chuck)

The trade-off is that cutters will not have helicopters immediately available on board, but having a cutter with helicopter in the right place at the right time was always a matter of luck.

(I have to wonder why this information was not included in a Coast Guard news release. I looked for it as a CG news release and found nothing.)

Thanks to Peter for bringing this to my attention.