Above is a video of interviews with representatives of Austal Shipbuilding in regard to the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and the Expeditionary Medical Ship (EMS).

There isn’t much new here about the OPC, but there is an opportunity to get a good look at a model of the ship. Looking at the Mk38, mount atop the hangar, it appears the field of fire and, perhaps more importantly, field of view for its optics are severely limited. (Using the 30mm Mk38 Mod4 with its separately located optics might improve this situation.) It is also not clear where the .50 caliber remote weapon stations (and their associated optics) will be located since the model only includes crew served .50 mounts. Presumably at least one and probably both will be forward, below the bridge and above and behind the 57mm Mk 110 gun mount.

The EMS is a ship the Coast Guard is likely to work with during disaster response operations and possibly during capacity building efforts. Operating Coast Guard helicopters from these ships during a natural disaster would seem a natural partnership.

This video was included in a Naval News report, “Austal Diversifies Revenue Base, Announces New Contracts.” Perhaps also of interest to the Coast Guard, included in the report was the statement that Austal was now “…the exclusive manufacturer of Saildrone, Inc.’s wind and solar-powered Surveyor USV…”, a system the Coast Guard has extensively tested.