After posting information about the “Defense Primer: Naval Forces” I learned that there are a long series of Defense Primers. It looks like there are 121. Apparently all are only two pages. The format severely limits the content.
Looks like an excellent source of short highly focused short explanations.
US Capital West Side, by Martin Falbisoner
The Congressional Research Service has produced a very short over view of US Navy forces, it discusses the nature of both the Navy and Marine Corps as naval services, the aircraft that make up carrier air wings, naval nuclear weapons, and the Navy’s domestic and overseas home ports. Discussion of Navy and Marine aircraft is limited (covered here). There is no mention of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard’s relationship with the Navy is covered here. Those interested in the USMC are directed to a different primer.
Its only two pages if you ignore the disclaimer, all pretty basic, but a good starting point if you have little prior knowledge of the way the Navy is organized. This is probably intended for the freshmen Congressmen expected in January.
Revision: Since this post was originally published, I have learned more about this particular form of briefing material. This lead to some changes above and a second post.
Janes reports that “The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has begun an initial process to evaluate possible vessel types for its second Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) project.”
Reportedly,
“The four proposals are namely a 70.7 m patrol boat concept from US shipbuilder Swiftships, a 68 m offshore patrol vessel (OPV) concept from Damen known as the Stan Patrol 6811, a 70.2 m patrol vessel from German shipbuilder Fassmer, and a 70 m patrol boat from Malaysian company Preston.
“Meanwhile, the proposal that has been forwarded by the joint venture between Damen and Destini is an 83 m vessel that is very similar to the OPV ordered for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA)..”
The real surprise here is that they are not continuing to build additional units of the Chinese built batch 1 ships. (More recent photos here, including the two stern launch boat slips. Text is apparently in Indonesia, but there was an option for translation that worked reasonably well.)
“The RMN has awarded a contract to China Shipbuilder & Offshore International Co. Ltd. to build the first batch of four (4) Littoral Mission Ship based on a 68-metere design. The first ship, the KD Keris (111), was commissioned with the RMN on January 2020, while the second ship, Sundang (112) was launched in China on July 2019….Under its 15-to-5 Transformation Program, the RMN plans to have 18 Littoral Mission Ship, although the decision to look for a new design for the second batch of LMS means the RMN itself is diverting from its original plan to only have 5 classes of ships in its inventory. (emphasis applied–Chuck)
The Chinese built ships are reportedly,
“…68.8 meters long, with a beam of 9 meters and draft of 2.8 meters. It displaces at 700 tons full load, and with a maximum speed of 22 knots and range of 2,000 nautical miles at 15 knots.”
I have only really been able to pin down one of the proposed designs, That of the 83 meter Damen design (photo below) currently being built for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Coast Guard).
Front view of a scale model of an OPV-1800 vessel made by the Dutch company Damen. Photo taken during the 2018 Asian Defence and Security (ADAS) Trade Show at the World Trade Center in Pasay, Metro Manila. Photo by Rhk111 from Wikipedia
The Fassmer website talks about the 80 meter OPV we are familiar with, but there is no mention of a 70 meter design. Swiftships offers a 75 meter corvette, but no 70.7-meter design. Reportedly the Damen offer is a 68 meter stretched version of their 6211 design. It may be that they are referring to waterline length rather than overall.
There is not a lot of information about proposed capabilities. Sounds like they may have decided they need a flight deck for a helo or at least a UAV.
Three of six saildrones getting ready for deployment from Dutch Harbor, AK, on the 2019 Arctic mission. Photo Credit: Saildrone, Inc.
Since the Coast Guard is currently testing the “Saildrone,” thought the experience reported by NOAA on this 6,000 mile mission was very interesting.
Autonomous vessel operations in the Arctic: Lessons learned from the Summer 2020 Mapping Mission
Navigation tracks of all four saildrones during the nearly two-month deployment as part of the North Slope Arctic mapping mission. Credit: TerraSond.
Thanks to Mike B for the link.
Photo: Coast Guard 33 foot Special Purpose craft like the one involved
We will probably hear more about this
Coast Guard, pleasure craft collide near Manatee Pocket MIAMI — A Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce 33-foot Special Purpose Craft—Law Enforcement boat crew and a 23-foot pleasure craft with five people aboard were involved in a collision Saturday near Manatee Pocket.
The people aboard the pleasure craft were embarked by the Coast Guard boat crew onto the Station Fort Pierce small boat and taken to Sandsprit Park. One person from the pleasure craft was reported to be injured and was transported to Martin County Memorial Hospital for treatment. No other injuries were reported. As a result of the collision, the pleasure craft began taking on water and became submerged in the channel. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is working with commercial salvage providers to remove the pleasure craft from the water.
The Coast Guard is working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
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Vice Admiral Charles W. Ray
This is just an FYI in case somehow you missed it. Apparently this has resulted in almost the entire upper echelon of the US military going into quarantine. At least it does show that the Coast Guard does meet with top US Pentagon leadership including CJCS, the CNO, the Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the heads of the Air Force, Army, Cyber Command, and NSA.
News Release:
Just passing this new release along, in view of possible future significance and unusual nature. More info here.
Guest Author Peter Ong is back, to give us a taste of the 2020 Surface Navy Association comments from Seventh District Commander Eric Jones.
The surprise here for me, was that they are looking for a way to provide an airborne use of force package to support the Webber Class WPC. The system they need may have already been developed as a palletized system for the airframe the Coast Guard designates the HC-144. There are currently HC-144s based in Miami.
“To be Battle-Ready is to always be ready.”—RADM Eric Jones (U.S.C.G.) at SNA 2020
United States Coast Guard’s District Seven Operations and Assessment
At the Surface Navy Association 2020 (SNA 2020) in August 25, 2020, virtual due to COVID-19, RADM Eric Jones (U.S.C.G.), stressed Readiness and Responsiveness in his Question and Answer session on-screen with “Battle-Ready Cutters.” He emphasized, “Battle-Ready Cutters are more than ships. They’re the right team; the right training; the right partnerships; the right authorities; the right technology,” said Jones. “Frankly, the right Force Package. Battle-Ready Cutters are greater than the sum of their parts to meet both National Security and Regional Demands across the full spectrum of military operations, law enforcement, environment response, and Humanitarian Assistance.”
U.S.C.G. Area of Operations District Seven covers waters around South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, the Caribbean, and Puerto Rico–Map: U.S.C.G. D7 Homepage (Area in blue is part of District 8. District 7/8 boundary in the Gulf of Mexico extends 199 degrees true from the coastal boundary to the Mexican coast–Chuck)
RADM Jones is responsible for District Seven’s (D7) Atlantic Area of Operations that cover the Southeastern United States, the Caribbean, and the (Eastern–Chuck) Gulf of Mexico. Headquarter in Miami, Florida, D7’s District details and operational duties include:
“We have several countries worried about the flow of weapons and bulk cash from the U.S.A. into their nations,” RADM Jones said. “That is where having SOUTHCOM [Southern Command] as a local and very strong partner helps.” Jones stated that in a given year, there are around 20 to 30 Coast Guard operations in the Caribbean.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, D7 Cutters conducted 1,200 ship boardings for illegal fishing inspections and issued numerous citations when many at-sea fishermen thought no one in the U.S. government was looking for, policing, or paying attention because of the pandemic and shelter-in-place Lockdown.
Coast Guard Cutters and crews are going 40, 50, and even 70 days at sea even with COVID. “This is what it takes to remain Battle-Ready,” said Jones.
“District Seven Cutters and crew interdicted 1,500 migrants at the Southeastern region of the United States at sea [north of the Greater Antilles]. In addition, Cutters and crews also interdicted 116 migrants off of Florida, and over 500 migrants bound for Puerto Rico.”
RADM Jones said that SOUTHCOM was boosted in the past five months with an infused force of, “17 Coast Guard Cutters and 7 Navy ships with embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments, as well as four Allied ships in the Caribbean region, and continues to support ongoing U.S. government as well as internationally supported government operations, reducing the availability of illicit drugs and saving countless lives in the United States and throughout the region.” The Allied ships in the region have Flight-Decks and are from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
RADM Jones continued, citing that the joint “Battle-Ready Coast Guard and Navy fleet in the Caribbean have interdicted 14 suspected smuggling vessels, seizing 6,200 kilograms of cocaine and 7,900 pounds of marijuana and detaining 47 suspected narco-traffickers. In addition, this fleet has disrupted an additional 10,400 kilograms of cocaine and 6,400 pounds of marijuana. All told, interdiction of these drugs has placed a $600 million dent in drug profits.”
USCGC Kathleen Moore (WPC-1109)
The U.S.C.G. Fast Response Cutter, Sentinel-class
According to the United States’ official Coast Guard website, “The fast response cutter is capable of deploying independently to conduct missions that include port, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense.”
Characteristics
Features
RADM Eric Jones was asked a question at Virtual SNA 2020 about his thoughts on the Coast Guard’s Sentinel-class (WPC) Fast Response Cutter (FRC) now that all 19 are in the D7 Area of Operations and mature with sailing and the FRC crews’ working experience.
“They’re fantastic assets. They’re very capable. But we/they do want to use them as interceptors and pouncers so we’re always looking for the best way to provide maritime patrol aircraft and intelligence to make sure that we got them in the right spot to intercept the cases as they come across. Very capable crew; it is not a 110 [110-foot Island Class patrol boat] . It has over twice the tonnage of a 110. Its endurance is well beyond what a 110 can do. Far more comfortable for the crew and having that stern-launched small boat allows them to do intercepts. And as we were discussing earlier, we’re looking for ways to provide airborne use-of-force at a similar Force Package to what you see in the deep Caribbean or Eastern Pacific to allow the AUF [Airborne Use of Force] to combine forces with the FRCs to successfully prosecute cases that move across the Central Caribbean from the north coast of Columbia and Venezuela to the south coast of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.”
—RADM Eric Jones (U.S.C.G.) at SNA 20203
References:
1 Informative slide about U.S.C.G. D7 Operations at RADM Eric Jones presentation at Virtual SNA 2020.
2 WPC-1101. U.S.C.G. Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter. Referred from https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/Programs/Surface-Programs/Fast-Response-Cutters/
3 RADM Eric Jones, U.S.C.G. at Virtual Surface Navy Association, August 25, 2020
Just wanted to pass along some photographs I ran across recently, to show why the Coast Guard might have a hard time stopping a modern merchant ship with our 25 and 57mm guns.
This is an extreme example, but it is the way the industry is going. The ship is 1302 ft in length, 207 ft of beam, and has a maximum speed of 31 knots. That means it can transit the 200 nautical miles from the edge of the EEZ to the coast in less than 6.5 hours.
Thanks to James Udan for bringing this to my attention.
The U.S. Coast Guard began fielding the new Glock 19 Gen5 MOS pistol this week, according to the company. Photo courtesy of Glock Inc.
UPI is reporting that the Coast Guard is introducing a new pistol,
The Glock Gen5 MOS pistol will replace the .40mm Sig Sauer P229 DAK which the Coast Guard has used since 2006. The Army, Navy and Marines chose to replace the aging handgun with Sig Sauer’s M18 Modular Handgun System, and have begun rolling out the new weapons to
units around the world.
Cannot help but wonder if departing from the DOD standard is a good idea.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 