Coast Guard Cutter Munro gets underway July, 23, 2021, for a scheduled deployment in the Western Pacific Ocean. An increased presence throughout the Indo-Pacific strengthens our alliances and partnerships through improved interoperability, which will enhance regional stability, promote rule-based order, and improve maritime governance and security in the region and globally. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Marine Corps Sgt. Kevin G. Rivas)

Below is a Pacific Area news release. Another unusual deployment though it looks like it may be becoming more routine.

News Release U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area Alameda-based Coast Guard cutter arrives in Western Pacific for months-long deployment Editors’ Note: Click on images to download high resolution versions. Subscribe here to receive notifications when new photographs from the deployment are added to the DVIDS feature page. ALAMEDA, Calif. – The Legend-class Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) arrived in the Western Pacific Sunday from its homeport in Alameda for a months-long deployment to the region. The crew is operating in support of United States Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees military operations in the region. Operating under the tactical control of Commander, 7th Fleet, the cutter crew plans to engage in professional exchanges and capacity-building exercises with partners and allies and will patrol and operate as directed. “Forward-deployed Naval Forces routinely and seamlessly integrate as one maritime force with a proud heritage of serving and fighting together,” said Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, commander U.S. 7th Fleet. “It is a fitting nod to that heritage that Munro joins us following the U.S. Coast Guard celebration of its 231st birthday on August 4.” The Coast Guard’s deployment to the Indo-Pacific theater aligns with the Integrated All-Domain Naval Power of the Naval Service and increases the traditional influence of sea power regionally. “The U.S. Coast Guard’s unique authorities, capabilities, and missions position us to collaborate on maritime safety and security with partners around the world,” said Vice Adm. Michael F. McAllister, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area. “An increased presence throughout the Indo-Pacific strengthens our alliances and partnerships through improved interoperability, which will enhance regional stability, promote rules-based order, and improve maritime governance and security in the region and globally.” Coast Guard forces provide expertise within the mission sets of search and rescue; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; maritime environmental response; maritime security; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Deployable Coast Guard cutters, port security units, and advanced interdiction teams are also highly capable in augmenting naval operations in theater. As both a federal law enforcement agency and an armed force, the Coast Guard is uniquely positioned to conduct defense operations and security cooperation in support of combatant commanders on all seven continents. The service routinely provides forces in joint military operations worldwide, including the deployment of cutters, boats, aircraft and deployable specialized forces. The U.S. Coast Guard has a 150-year enduring role in the Indo-Pacific. The service’s ongoing deployment of resources to the region directly supports U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives in the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the National Security Strategy. Commissioned in 2017, Munro is one of four Coast Guard legend class national security cutters homeported in Alameda. National security cutters are 418-feet long, 54-feet wide, and have a 4,600 long-ton displacement. They have a top speed in excess of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles, endurance of up to 90 days and can hold a crew of up to 170. Munro is the second cutter named for Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro, the only Coast Guardsman awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. National security cutters feature advanced command and control capabilities, aviation support facilities, stern cutter boat launch and increased endurance for long-range patrols to disrupt threats to national security further offshore. Since 2018, three other Coast Guard Cutters – Bertholf, Stratton and Waesche – have deployed to the Western Pacific.

The Coast Guard Cutter Midgett and the Canadian coast guard ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier conduct a joint maritime security patrol in the Chukchi Sea on July 20, 2021. US Coast Guard photo.

Below is a D17 news release. If Midgett is in the Chukchi Sea, which is North of the Bering Strait and all above the Arctic Circle, this is no normal Alaska Patrol. Midgett also got to rendezvous with USCGC Healy, which is conducting a circumnavigation of North America (more Healy photos here).  (I don’t recognize the type boat below, presume it is one of Healy’s boats, any info appreciated.)

Coast Guard Cutter Healy crew members assist Coast Guard Cutter Midgett crew members while they climb aboard from the cutter boat in the Bering Strait, July 25, 2021. The Midgett is a national security cutter that ensures U.S. presence to assure U.S. sovereignty and resource security in remote Pacific regions. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Janessa Warschkow.

The Russian patrol ship Kamchatka, mentioned in the story, is pictured below. It is a member of the 1066 ton Purga class.

The Kamchatka border patrol ship (serial number 052) of project 22120 of the Coast Guard of the Russian Federal Border Guard Service crosses the Öresund Strait, heading from the Baltic Sea to the North, 08/20/2019 (c) frankmh

U.S. Coast Guard patrols U.S. Arctic

JUNEAU, Alaska — Crews aboard Coast Guard Cutters Midgett and Healy patrolled the Bering and Chukchi Seas off the coast of Alaska this summer to demonstrate the Coast Guard’s commitment to ensuring a safe and secure Arctic and to work respectively with Canadian and Russian counterparts on shared maritime interests. 

In late July, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, one of the Service’s National Security Cutters, conducted combined operations and training with the Canadian coast guard Ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier in the Chukchi Sea, a joint patrol of the U.S.-Russia maritime boundary north of the Diomede Islands with the Russian Border Guard vessel Kamchatka, and a joint transit of the Bering Strait with the Coast Guard Cutter Healy, one of the service’s two operational polar icebreakers. In each case, Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak crews forward-deployed to Kotzebue, Alaska in an HC-130J Hercules airplane supported the operations.

The simultaneous presence of Healy and Midgett in the Arctic region signals the increasing demand for the merged icebreaking and maritime security capability required of future Polar Security Cutters.

Midgett is the Coast Guard’s eighth National Security Cutter and is homeported in Honolulu. Featuring advanced command-and-control capabilities, national security cutters are the flagship of the Coast Guard’s fleet, deploying globally to confront national security threats, strengthen maritime governance, and promote economic prosperity. While National Security Cutters possess advanced operational capabilities, more than 70% of the Coast Guard’s offshore presence is the service’s aging fleet of medium endurance cutters, many of which are over 50 years old and approaching the end of their service life. Replacing the fleet with new Offshore Patrol Cutters is one of the Coast Guard’s top acquisition priorities. The first Offshore Patrol Cutter is scheduled to be delivered in 2022.

Healy is a medium icebreaker capable of conducting a wide range of Coast Guard operations including search and rescue, ship escorts, environmental protection, and enforcement of laws and treaties in the polar regions. Uniquely equipped to conduct scientific operations, Healy is also the Nation’s premiere high-latitude research vessel. Healy is the only U.S. military surface vessel that routinely deploys to the ice-covered waters of the Arctic to provide access and secure national interests related to our maritime borders and natural resources.  Check here for photo updates from Healy’s Arctic deployment or subscribe to receive updates in your inbox here.

Project 22460, new version of Rubin. Armed with one 57mm gun and two 30mm guns (in the turret of the Taifun-VDV).

If you are interested in the Russian Coast Guard, I ran across a website that seems to have a lot of information. It is definitely a pro-Russian site. You may want to be careful about clicking on any of the photos, my software stopped a “malicious download.”

Obviously people like having the Coast Guard around. It seems the Coast Guard is again attempting to close “redundant” stations, in this case the seasonal station at Scituate, Massachusetts, situated between Boston and Plymouth. You can see the typical result here.

February 2020, we had a similar story.

Thanks to Paul for bringing this to my attention. 

CIMSEC has published a two part discussion of planning for Maritime Security Operations written by retired US Coast Guard Captain Andrew Norris.

• Part 1
• Part 2

Much of the discussion is about the inadequacies of the current planning guidance. It picks up in Part 2 with a discussion of the “Constraint-Restraint-Enabler-Imperative (C-R-E-I) Model.”

While written as guidance for the planner, it might also serve as a checklist for the operator, as he prepares execute Maritime Security Operation. Have constraints, restraints, enablers, and imperatives been identified and are they adequately understood? Has training in these consideration been adequate? Do I have everything I need to implement and exploit the enablers?

Below is a news release from District Seven. I don’t normally pass these along, but this one is a bit unusual, in the quantity of the offload and the ships involved in the 27 seizures or recoveries.

Almost 30 tons of Cocaine, plus a bit of Marijuana, and it came from the usual locations, “international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Sea.“

All the ships involved here came from the Atlantic side. All four WMECs and the three LCS involved were all based in Florida. This reminds us that, using the Panama Canal, the Eastern Pacific drug transit zones are actually closer to Florida than to California.

It may be significant that the three Navy ships are all Freedom class LCS, which up until now seem to have had more than their share of problems, yet they appear to have succeeded here. On the other hand it may be that this is the least demanding type of deployment they can do.

Nice to see recognition for our Dutch and Canadian friends as well. The Canadian ship is actually smaller than a 210. The Dutch ship is in many ways similar to the Offshore Patrol Cutter, only slightly smaller with a much smaller crew.

Multimedia Release U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Southeast Coast Guard Cutter James conducts largest illegal narcotic offload in Coast Guard history worth more than $1.4 billion at Port Everglades       Editor’s Note: Due to Defense Visual Information Distribution Service experiencing technical difficulties, we are unable to provide a full-resolution link to our images. MIAMI — Coast Guard Cutter James’ crew offloaded approximately 59,700 pounds of cocaine and 1,430 pounds of marijuana worth more than $1.4 billion, Thursday, at Port Everglades, which is the largest offload in Coast Guard history. The Coast Guard’s strong international relationships, with key partners like Canada and the Netherlands, along with our specialized capabilities and unmatched authorities, allow for a unity of effort to disrupt transnational crime organizations, which threaten America and our partner nations. “Today’s offload is a result of our combined efforts of our inter-agency partners and a dedicated international coalition,” said Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, Commander Atlantic Area. “The Canadian government and Canadian Defence Forces brings an incredible capability in defeating transnational organized crime, and I’m grateful to HMCS Shawinigan to showcase Canada’s commitment. Together we will disrupt, defeat and degrade transnational organized crime. We will strengthen our efforts and continue to build collaboration and capability.” “Canada and America are committed to expanding cooperation on defending North America against illicit trafficking and transnational crime and working together within our alliances,” said Maj. Gen. Paul Ormsby, Canadian Defence Attache. “We know that no nation can do it alone, and we know that we are stronger together. The kind of cooperation that we see on the pier today is one of the thousands of impressive examples of cooperation every day. “The drugs were interdicted in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Sea including contraband seized and recovered during 27 interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels by 10 American, Dutch and Canadian ships: Coast Guard Cutter James Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless Coast Guard Cutter Thetis Coast Guard Cutter Confidence  USS Wichita USS Sioux City USS Billings HNLMS Holland (I added the link for this one–Chuck) HMCS Shawinigan Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations. The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation. During at-sea interdictions, a suspect vessel is initially detected and monitored by allied, military or law enforcement personnel coordinated by Joint Interagency Task Force-South based in Key West, Florida. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific is conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard 11th District, headquartered in Alameda, California. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard. The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in districts across the nation. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard 11th District, headquartered in Alameda, California, and the law enforcement phase of operations in the Caribbean is conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard 7th District, headquartered in Miami. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard.  The cutter James is a 418-foot national security cutter home ported in Charleston, South Carolina. The cutter Mohawk is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter home ported in Key West, Florida. The cutter Dauntless is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Pensacola, Florida. The cutter Thetis is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Key West, Florida. The cutter Confidence is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Port Canaveral, Florida. The USS Wichita is a 378-foot freedom-class littoral combat ship homeported in Naval Station Mayport, Florida. The USS Sioux City is a 378-foot Freedom-class littoral combat ship homeported in Naval Station Mayport, Florida. The USS Billings is a 378-foot Freedom-class littoral combat ship homeported in Naval Station Mayport, Florida. The Royal Netherlands Navy HNLMS Holland is a 356-foot Holland-class offshore patrol vessel homeported in Den Helder, Netherlands. The HMCS Shawinigan is a 181-foot Kingston-class coastal defence vessel homeported in Halifax, Canada. For more breaking news follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

DroneDJ reports the first successful cargo transfer by drone between ships at sea, using Volansi VTOL UAS.

“The cargo deliveries – there were three of them – took place July 18 off the coast of Key West, Florida. Both its VOLY 10 and VOLY 20 series of drones were involved, with two flights covering 15 nautical miles and one flight covering one nautical mile.”

The transferred were made between USNS Burlington and USCGC William Trump, a Webber class FRC.

Presumably the landing area on the cutter was in the board open area forward of the bridge intended for vertical replenishment. This does seem to indicate the FRCs could operate a UAS with minimal changes.

The Volansi VOLY 20 (or the V-Bat) looks like it could be very useful. VOLY 20 claimed performance:

• Endurance: 6+hours
• Range: 350 miles (I presume stature miles)
• Average Speed: 65 knots
• Payload: 30 pounds

Volansi already has a contract with the Air Force as part of their Skyborg Vangard program. My only reservation, from this brief review, is that it is gas powered rather than diesel.

Photos of the nearly complete basic structure of the Norwegian ice capable OPV Jan Mayen, brought to us by frequent contributor, Tups, as a comment on a previous post about these massive almost 10,000 ton patrol vessels.

For convenience here are specifications provided previously:

• Displacement: 9,800 tons
• Length: 136.4 meters (447.4 ft) loa
• Beam: 22 meters (72.16 ft)
• Draft: 6.2 meter (20.3 ft)
• Speed: 22 knots.

They are expected to hangar two NH90 helicopters (10,600 kg/23,370 lb max TO weight) with deck space to land an AW101 (14,600 kg/32,188 lb max TO weight). They are expected to have an endurance of eight weeks, accommodations for 100, collective CBRN protection, and space for containers on deck.

It appears the propulsion setup is similar to that of the Polar Security Cutters with three screws including a center shaft and what appear to be Azipods providing the outer propellers. The Norwegian ship does appear to include a rudder immediately behind the center shaft, unlike the PSC.

Late Addition, photo below.

Passing this along.

R 041303Z AUG 21 FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC TO ALCOAST BT UNCLAS ALCOAST 280/21 SSIC 16600 SUBJ: RELEASE OF THE USCG CYBER STRATEGIC OUTLOOK A. Cyber Strategic Outlook 1. The Commandant has promulgated the Coast Guard’s Cyber Strategic Outlook, which updates our Cyber Strategy published in 2015. Cyber attacks against the United States are one of the most significant threats to our economic and military power since World War II. The 2021 Cyber Strategic Outlook charts a path to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving cyber domain where threats to information and operational technology systems outpace those from the traditional physical domains of air, sea, land and space. 2. The events of the past five years, including the exploitation of U.S. Coast Guard networks and information, attacks on maritime critical infrastructure, and adversarial efforts to undermine our democratic processes have reinforced that cyberspace is a contested operational domain. In recognition of the Coast Guard’s role as the nation’s lead federal agency for securing and safeguarding the Marine Transportation System, this strategic outlook updates the Service’s vision to ensure readiness to conduct all missions in a contested cyberspace, secure the maritime transportation sector through a rules based international order, and to identify and thwart adversary activity in and through cyberspace through the following lines of effort:    a. LOE1: Defend and Protect the Enterprise Mission Platform    b. LOE2: Protect the Marine Transportation System    c. LOE3: Operate In and Through Cyberspace The Coast Guard’s success across all three lines of effort depend upon partnerships, intelligence, workforce, and innovation. 3. In order to meet all strategic and operational objectives, the Coast Guard must maintain a robust and comprehensive cyber capability. As such, I encourage every member of the U.S. Coast Guard to become familiar with the Cyber Strategic Outlook. 4. The electronic version of the strategy can be viewed at: (Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)http://www.uscg.mil/cyber 5. POC: CAPT Alain V. Balmaceda, COMDT (CG-791), 202-372-2479 or by global e-mail. 6. VADM Scott. A. Buschman, Deputy Commandant for Operations (DCO), sends. 7. Internet release is authorized.