Another country has begun procuring ships similar to my proposal for “Cutter X.” In this case it is four vessels for the Sultanate of Oman. The program is already well underway. Naval Technology reports two of the four ships have already been accepted and the remaining two should be delivered by the third quarter of 2016. Total cost was reportedly approximately $700M.

It appears that this class may have provided the basis for the design of Singapore’s slightly larger “Littoral Mission Vessel,” (LMV) we talked about earlier, the first of which was launched in July.)

These ships are intended to replace four much smaller 25 meter (82 foot) Al Seeb class patrol boats. In fact it appears that they will receive the names of the vessels they replace.

Power is two 20V8000 MTU diesels, providing roughly 24,000 HP, for a max speed of 25 knots. Endurance is reportedly 14 days with a range of 3,000 miles at 16 knots which should give a range of about 4,500 miles at a slower speed of 10-12 knots.

Armament is an Oto Melara 76mm and two Oto Melara 30mm remotely controlled machine guns.

A clear view of the ships mast, bridge, and electronics can be seen here.

Dimensions:

• Length, 75 m (246 ft) (overall); 72 meters (236.2) (waterline)
• Beam: 10.8 m (35.4 ft)
• Draught: 3.3 m (10.8 ft)
• Displacement: 1,250 tons

Recently the US Naval Institute put out a call for articles written by women. They got several on diverse subjects, but one in particular by a Coast Guard Academy graduate, Damage Control Assistant, boarding party member, and Diver got my attention, because it seems to indicate that, not only that we are not properly outfitting crew members that are smaller than average, but also that we may be putting their lives in dangers because they are not given gear that fits.

Earlier, we talked about the fact that a documentary about the Coast Guard’s response to Hurricane Katrina, called Paratus 14:50. You can watch it on-line here.

NavyRecognition is reporting that Saudi Arabia has contracted for 79 15 meter (49 foot)  Interceptor/Patrol Boats. This is part of a larger contract awarded to German shipbuilder Lurssen. These 15 meter boats were subcontracted to the French Shipyard Cauach.

MarineLink is reporting that Lockheed will be awarded a sole source contract to provide integrated combat management systems for the planned 20 frigate variants of the Littoral Combat Ships.

U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command announced its plan to award Lockheed a sole-source contract for development and construction of two initial combat systems in a federal notice earlier this month. The news was first reported this week by the U.S. Naval Institute News earlier this week.

Why might this system go on the Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs)? The system is a modified version of the Aegis system. Apparently an outgrowth of the system already on the monohull Freedom class LCS. The National Security Cutters of the Bertolf Class also use a modified version of the Aegis system. Looking at the graphic above apparently from Lockheed you will not in the description that the system is intended for “patrol ships” and refers to PCC combat management systems.

The MarineLink article talks about an intention to do software upgrades to the existing systems on the Freedom class Littoral Combat Ships. Presumably there might also be upgrades to the system on the Betholf class.

If we are lucky (and smart) we may end up with common systems across the entire new generation of 33 large cutters. And hopefully the Navy will pay for it.  Having a common system over what could be 85 ships (32 LCS, 20 FF, 8 NSC, 25 OPC) has got to lead to some economies of scale.

MarineLink is reporting Argentina has recently completed repairs on their only icebreaker, ARA Almirante Irizar.

There are some remarkable parallels between USCGC Polar Sea and Argentina’s Icebreaker, ARA Almirante Irizar. They are essentially the same size (length and beam within a foot and the same draft) and the same age (both commissioned in the late ’70s). The Polar class ships have much greater horsepower with their gas-turbine engines, but their diesel horsepower is very similar. Both have been out of service for years. The Polar Sea since 2010 after failure of five of her six diesel engines. The Almirante Irizar since 2007 after a serious fire.

Sounds like the required repairs were quite extensive. Not surprisingly it cost more that initially expected and repairs included enhancements rather than just a restoration of the previous configuration.

As the Coast Guard looks at the Polar Sea, we will also likely want to incorporate some changes.

The Healey has been getting a lot of press lately. They have been working with the R&D center looking at using UAVs including the Scan Eagle.

They are now on a second mission of the season.

The U. S. Naval Institute has published their annual “Coast Guard Issue.” It has some thoughts worth taking a look at, and there are cogent comments attached to at least one of the on-line articles.

If you are not a member, you probably should be, but if you don’t have access to the print version, a lot of the material is available on-line. As usual, some on-line articles are “open content” that can be viewed by anyone, while some are “members only.”

The Coast Guard specific “open content” articles include:

“The Demise of the Cutterman,” a feature length article that has attracted a lot of comment.

“Nobody ask me but…The U.S. Coast Guard Must Retain Its Most Talented Officers,” a short piece on assignment and promotion policies.

The Coast Guard specific members only articles are:

“Bring on the Workhorses” about the need to replace the WMECs with Offshore Patrol Cutters.

“The ’85 Percent Solution’,” which advocates for ice strengthened National Security Cutters.

“U.S. Coast Guard Resources,” which is actually in two parts.
—“References” a pdf which identifies all CG flag officers and five most senior enlisted with job titles and photos, and
—“Organizational & Information Services,” a pdf that includes an organizational wiring diagram and some informational phone numbers.