“Colombia inks deal that could see Damen build five Sigma frigates” –Defense News

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Colombian Navy SIGMA frigate

Defense News reports, one of our primary partners in drug interdiction efforts is expected to significantly upgrade their naval capabilities.

Colombia is launching a $2 billion shipbuilding program that would see its Navy acquire five frigates.

The announcement, made last week, was followed by the signing on Tuesday of an initial contract between local shipbuilder Cotecmar and Dutch company Damen to adapt the latter’s Sigma 10514 design to meet the Colombian Navy’s requirements.

This is a significant step toward self sufficiency in naval construction. It is a step up after Cotemar built three Fassmer 80 meter Offshore Patrol Vessels.

The new ships will replace four smaller 95 meter, 1850 ton full load, German built light frigate/corvettes that were commissioned in 1983/84.

If these new ships are in fact 120 meters in length and at least 2800 tons full load, they will be the largest ships of the SIGMA series. (At one time I expected a SIGMA series ship would have been a contender in the Offshore Patrol Cutter program.)

Apparently they have not made a final choice of weapons and sensors. I would not be surprised if they were equipped much like the Mexican SIGMA frigate, which is armed with weapons sourced from the US, including RGM-84L Harpoon Block II, eight Mk56 VLS for ESSM, MK 54 Mod 0 lightweight torpedoes with two MK 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes (SVTT) triple tube launchers, Block II Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) missiles and Bofors 57 mm gun.

It seems likely the additional length compared to the Mexican ship will be to improve some capability, I would guess ASW. Mk41 VLS would allow greater flexibility including launch of ASROC and potentially land attack missiles.

It is widely known Colombia and Venezuela have not been getting along well. Colombia probably considers Venezuela their pacing threat. If that is the case, most, if not all five of the new ships will likely be based on the Caribbean side. These ships should provide an advantage vs the Venezuelan Navy.

Major naval bases of the Colombian Navy (Armada de la República de Colombia – ARC)
Colombian Navy (ARC) Marine Infantry Primary base and training school, Covenas
Source: Iceman0108. Background map: Mapa de Colombia (relieve-ríos) by Milenioscuro

Below, video of the latest SIGMA series ship, Mexican frigate ARM Benito Juárez (F 101), as it arrives for participation in RIMPAC 2022: 

The Offshore Patrol Cutter’s Multi-Mode Radar

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SeaGiraffe AMB radar. AN/SPS-77

The showed up on the DOD “Contracts For Sept. 30, 2022.” It is in reference to the Sea Giraffe AMB radar, which has the U.S. designation AN/SPS-77

Saab, Inc., Syracuse, New York, is awarded a $15,002,000 firm-fixed-price undefinitized contract for Multi-Mode Radar production for the United States Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter. Work will be performed in Syracuse, New York (60%), and Gothenburg, Sweden (40%) and is expected to be completed by April 2025. Fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,101,480 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1) — only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy the needs of the agency. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-22-C-5530).

I found previous reports of procurement of this system for the OPC program in 20217, 2018, and 2019, but none for 2020 or 2021. This is probably for the fourth OPC. The April 2025 delivery date sounds about right, since the fourth OPC will probably not be delivered until 2026. 

This radar also equips all Independence class Littoral Combat Ships and at least some of the Expeditionary Sea Base shps.

An air control variant is expected to equip Nimitz class aircraft carriers and America- (LHA) and Wasp- (LHD) class amphibious assault ships.

This type radar also now equips two of the former USCG Hamilton class 378 foot cutters. All three Philippine 378s are expected to be so equipped.

“SouthCom Needs an Oiler” –USNI

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USCGC Legare WMEC-912 refueling from Chilean Navy Oiler Almirante Montt

The October issue of US Naval Institute Proceedings has an article advocating regular assignment of a Navy Underway Replenishment (UNREP) vessel to support drug interdiction operations in the Eastern Pacific. The authors are serving Coast Guard officers,

  • Captain Michael Cilenti, U.S. Coast Guard, a career cutterman, a staff director at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and 
  • Commander Matthew Rooney, U.S. Coast Guard, a career cutterman and a student at the U.S. Army War College.

I would say “Amen!”

The article notes this would allow interdiction operations to become less predictable and would reduce time spent in transit to and from station. This could improve and speed handling of detainees. The unrep ships might even conduct some drug enforcement operations themselves.

The authors make a very good point, about the need for more underway replenishment ships,

“Some may push back against additional oiler deployments to SouthCom, citing a lack of available assets. But replenishment at sea—referred to as the Navy’s secret weapon by Admiral Chester Nimitz during World War II—will no doubt be foundational to any future conflict. If the Navy has too few assets to meet steady-state peacetime operations, how would it be able to support even short-term sustained combat operations in the far-flung corners of the globe?”

The title calls for an oiler (T-AO), but the article also mentions ” a T-AKE or allied oiler.” One of the Lewis and Clark class T-AKE dry cargo ships is actually a good option because, even though they carry only “limited quantities of fuel,” their 23,450 barrel capacity is enough to refuel a Bertholf class National Security Cutter more than four time from absolutely empty and they can simultaneously provide virtually every other type of stores that might be required.

Another way to achieve the same objective might be for the US Navy to transfer one or two Henry J. Kaiser class oilers to Colombia as they are replace by newer ships and work cooperatively with them.

I would note that, this would not only help Coast Guard cutters, it would also help Navy ships doing drug interdiction missions, which are typically Freedom class Littoral Combat Ships. They have far less range than the large cutter do. Allied vessels doing drug enforcement in the Eastern Pacific might also benefit.

An underway replenishment ship might also make use of Webber class cutters (FRCs) for drug interdiction more efficient, mitigating their limited endurance. While I would expect methods for replenishment directly from the underway replenishment ship would be developed, their availability would also encourage use of larger cutter to refuel and resupply the patrol craft. The underway replenishment ship might also provide aviation support for the FRCs that have no organic air support.

“Coast Guard aircrews putting MH-65E new capabilities to good use” –CG-9

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MH-65E interior.

The Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9) has an excellent post about the upgrades that bring the MH-65s up to the “Echo” standard.

While there is a long term intent to ultimately move to an all H-60 fleet, the H-65 fleet still has a future.

In conjunction with the upgrades, the Coast Guard is completing service life extension program activities on the Dolphin fleet to replace five major structural components: the nine-degree frame, canopy, center console floor assembly, floorboards and side panels. These mission-critical improvements are designed to extend the service life of the helicopter by 10,000 flight hours.

The Coast Guard plans to convert all 98 aircraft to the MH-65E configuration by the end of fiscal year 2024.

“Sea Serpent ASW system successfully used by US Navy” –Navy Recognition

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Sea Serpent system deployed from a boat (MIND photo)

Navy Recognition reports,

“On September 27, 2022, MIND Technologies Inc., a Texas/U.S.-based company providing underwater research solutions, announced the successful demonstration of its Sea Serpent ASW system during the U.S. Navy’s Coastal Trident 2022 exercise.”

The Sea Serpent system is described by Mind Technologies as,

  • “…based on COTS Seismic Arrays, applicable for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), and Waterside Security (WSS) applications.
  • “…designed for rapid deployment from USV platforms or as a ‘clip-on’ capability to existing light- and medium-weight Coast Guard (emphasis appkied–Chuck) or Naval vessels
  • “…modular and scalable, with lengths from 50 m to over 12,000 m acoustic aperture available
  • “Processing uses a scalable, app-based architecture and includes multiple beamforming options,  as well as broadband, narrowband/LOFAR, and DEMON processing
  • “Other apps will include Automatic Detection and Tracking (ADT) and Target Motion Analysis (TMA)
  • “The architecture is fully open to allow third-party/government processing and supports private cloud operation for distributed tracking, multi-static processing, and data fusion.”

All the reports I have seen were based on the company’s news release so we don’t have an independent evaluation of its success.

An exercise with the United States Coast Guard’s Maritime Security Response Team-West was leveraged to conduct Advanced Naval Technology Exercise experiments with wearable sensors and remote physiological monitoring.

Coastal Trident is a series of annual exercises conducted by Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Port Hueneme Division. Apparently the Coast Guard has participated in the exercise in the past. It certainly seems to be something the CG should be interested in.

 

“The Long Blue Line: LANTAREA’s PATFORSWA Managers—over 15 years of leadership!”

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MyCG has a new post that reports on the history of an element of Atlantic Area staff that has been manned by reservists, but it is more than that. It charts the history of Coast Guard efforts in support of Central Command over more than 16 years. It also reports that the Reservists are being releaved by an Active Duty/Civilian staff.

It is an interesting read.

“COAST GUARD Workforce Planning Actions Needed to Address Growing Cyberspace Mission Demands” –GAO

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A team from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy participated in the National Security Agency’s 20th annual National Cyber Exercise (NCX), a three-day cyber competition that tests the offensive and defensive cybersecurity skills virtually, April 8-10, 2021. The Coast Guard Academy recently instituted a Cyber Systems degree to meet the needs of the services cyber security strategy of defending cyber space, enabling operations, and protecting infrastructure. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Hunter Medley)

The GAO has issued a report that finds the Coast Guard is not doing all GAO thinks Coast Guard should be doing, to manage its cyber work force. You can see the one page summary here, it has a nice bar graph. I have reproduced most of the summary below. You can see the entire 40 page report here.

The most striking thing for me, was to see how many Coast Guard people are now employed in cyber. 4507 positions are authorized and 4095 are filled. That is a big chunk of the Coast Guard’s total manpower. It is totally justified considering they are protecting not just the Coast Guard, but the entire maritime transportation system.

A recent US Naval Institute Proceedings article, “Cyber Warfare Is a Navy Mission” discusses why cyber has become so important and also suggests that the Navy needs to take larger role in maritime economic cyber. Apparently the Navy has not been paying much attention to this, but the potential is there, that they may.

What GAO Found

The Coast Guard is increasingly dependent upon its cyberspace workforce to
maintain and protect its information systems and data from threats. As of
September 2021, the Coast Guard determined it had 4,507 authorized
cyberspace workforce positions (i.e., funded positions that could be vacant or
filled), consisting of military and civilian personnel.

Coast Guard guidance calls for the service to use its Manpower Requirements
Determination process to assess and determine necessary staffing levels and
skills to meet mission needs. However, GAO found that the service had not used
this process for a large portion of its cyberspace workforce. For example, as of
February 2022, the Coast Guard had not used this process for three
headquarters units that collectively represent 55 percent of its cyberspace
workforce positions. Until such analysis is completed, the Coast Guard will not
fully understand the resources it requires, including those to protect its
information systems and data from threats.

Of 12 selected recruitment, retention, and training leading practices, the Coast
Guard fully implemented seven, partially implemented three, and did not
implement two. By fully implementing these leading practices, the Coast Guard
could better manage its cyberspace workforce. For example, it has not
developed a strategic workforce plan for its cyberspace workforce. According to
leading recruitment practices, such a plan should include three elements: (1)
strategic direction, (2) supply, demand, and gap analyses, and (3) solution
implementation, along with monitoring the plan’s progress to address all
cyberspace competency and staffing needs. Without having such a plan, the
Coast Guard will likely miss opportunities to recruit for difficult to fill cyberspace
positions.

“U.S. Coast Guard supports Pacific Partnership 2022 in Solomon Islands” –D14

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A D14 news release.

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 14th District Hawaii and the Pacific

U.S. Coast Guard supports Pacific Partnership 2022 in Solomon Islands

123

Editors’ Note: Click on images to download a high-resolution version.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands The Solomon Islands hosted the Pacific Partnership’s Humanitarian Assistance Response Training (HART), a multi-day international humanitarian aid and disaster relief workshop and exercise, in early September.

Coast Guard District Fourteen emergency management response experts partnered with Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Center of Excellence in Disaster Management (CFE-DM), USNS Mercy, Solomon Island’s National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Royal Solomon Islands Police and Fire, and the Solomon Islands National Emergency Response Team (NERT) to corroborate efficient response and coordination for natural disasters, oils spills, and search and rescue (SAR) situations.

The Pacific Partnership originated after the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean and the unprecedented multi-national relief efforts that followed. This incident identified the need for international partnership to prepare for and respond to all traditional natural and man-made disasters as well as non-traditional security threats such as scarcity of critical resources and environmental degradation.

“Pacific Partnership ’22 mission was critical in working with the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office to build knowledge, strength and resiliency,” said James Garland, the Coast Guard District Fourteen emergency management expert. “This crucial mission helps each country to strengthen their capabilities and capacity for disaster response and management.” 

Coast Guard District Fourteen subject matter experts shared their technical knowledge on incident command system fundamentals including the command structure utilized to guide and prepare nations and government agencies for efficient incident responses. Coast Guard members also provided an international and joint rescue coordination brief regarding search and rescue (SAR) capabilities in Oceania. The workshop also included discussions on foreign military aid in disaster response, coordination mechanisms to maximize inclusivity, and multi-national roles in humanitarian assistance.

Pacific Partnership is a U.S. Pacific Fleet led mission furthering regional resiliency, interoperability, and security with various partner nations in SE Asia and Oceania. The U.S. Coast Guard looks forward to a continued working relationship and future engagement opportunities with Solomon Island agency partners.

For more U.S. Coast Guard Hawaii Pacific news, visit us on DVIDS or subscribe. You can also follow us on Facebook at @USCGHawaiiPacific, Instagram at @uscghawaiipacific, and Twitter @USCGHawaiiPac.

“Coast Guard ready for Hurricane Ian” –D7

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Yahoo News

News Release from District 7 (HQ Miami).

Coast Guard ready for Hurricane Ian

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 09/27/2022 09:05 PM EDT

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Southeast

Coast Guard ready for Hurricane Ian

Editor’s Note: Click on images to download high-resolution version.

MIAMI — Crews across the Seventh Coast Guard District are prepared to support the State of Florida’s rescue, response and recovery needs following Hurricane Ian’s anticipated arrival, Tuesday.

Hurricane Ian is projected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm with winds estimated to reach between 130 and 156 miles per hour. Additional severe weather risks include storm surge, heavy seas, and rain leading to flooding, and high winds which can cause tornadoes.

Since the start of hurricane season in June, Coast Guard units from South Carolina to the Florida Panhandle, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have been training and preparing to face any storms this season. Incident Management Teams are stood up at District Seven in Miami, Sector St. Petersburg and Sector Key West, with additional Incident Command System elements activated for Sector Miami and Sector Jacksonville.

This past weekend, Rear Adm. Brendan C. McPherson, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District and director of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast, visited the islands of Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Croix in the wake of Hurricane Fiona to ensure the local government and Coast Guard units were supported in storm recovery. Today, McPherson conducted a joint press conference with the State of Florida Governor’s Office in Tallahassee to express the Coast Guard is prepared to support Floridians in facing Hurricane Ian.

“The Coast Guard is here and ready to fully support the State of Florida in our shared response to Hurricane Ian,” said Capt. Nicolette Vaughan, chief of prevention for the Seventh Coast Guard District and IMT Area Commander for the Hurricane Ian incident response team. “Our primary focus is to rescue those in distress. Our next focus will be to reopen the ports affected as soon as possible to ensure vital resources and supplies are delivered where they are most needed.”

At the same time, HSTF-SE units are maintaining an active presence in the Caribbean and Florida Straits to prevent and deter irregular, illegal maritime migration, which can prove even more dangerous and deadly during hurricane season. 

To date, District Seven has repositioned and prepositioned hurricane response units across the State of Florida, pre-staged to surge into impacted areas for lifesaving search and rescue resources, port reconstitution teams and any other maritime infrastructure and emergency respond needs the Coast Guard can provide. These include the following:  

  • Aircraft: 21 rotary wing and 9 fixed wing aircraft able to locate and rescue persons in distress.
  • Cutters: 31 multi-mission search and rescue ships, 4 buoy tenders and 3 construction tenders to service aids to navigation.
  • Flood Response Teams: 40 shallow water response teams able to access those stranded by the storm surge and heavy rain.
  • Personnel: Surging in additional support from across the United States to provide resiliency for continuous operations.

Additional coordination with the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command, the Eighth Coast Guard District, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management system, along with other federal, state and local departments like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the Army Corps of Engineers, will ensure continuous hurricane response support to the State of Florida and other impact areas following the storm. Post storm, crews will take to the water, assessing port conditions, identifying safety concerns to protect mariners and restore the maritime commerce and tourism industries that Florida depends upon.

Residents of Georgia and South Carolina are reminded to remain vigilant as Hurricane Ian’s track may cross the Florida Peninsula and continue up the eastern sea

Up-to-date weather information can be found at https://www.weather.gov/.  If you are in an evacuation or flood zone, follow the instructions from local emergency managers, who work closely with federal, state, local, tribal and territorial agencies and partners. They will provide the latest recommendations based on the threat to your community and appropriate safety measures. Visit https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes for more information on how to prepare for hurricane season. 

Para mantenerse actualizado sobre la Huracán Ian en Español, oprima aquí. 

Updated port conditions for hurricanes and tropical storms can be found at https://homeport.uscg.mil/. For more information about hurricanes and hurricane preparedness, visit NOAA’s and FEMA’s websites where you can find widgets that provide hurricane tracks and other updates. These can be found at www.ready.gov/hurricanes, www.nhc.noaa.gov, and www.fema.gov.  

As a reminder, people in distress should use 911 to request assistance whenever possible, or VHF radio channel 16 for mariners. Social media should not be used to report distress. 

“Media Advisory: First New England-based Fast Response Cutter to arrive in Boston” –D1/Six FRCs Coming to Boston

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The 50th fast response cutter, William Chadwick, was delivered to the Coast Guard Aug. 4 2022, in Key West, Florida. It will be homeported in Boston. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

A news release from First District. The big news here is that there will be six FRCs assigned to Boston. Wikipedia had already identified five as going to Boston. (Incidentally the photo in the news release is not of USCGC William Chadwick, it is USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) arriving in Port Moresby.)

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 1st District Northeast

Media Advisory: First New England-based Fast Response Cutter to arrive in Boston

U.S Coast Guard conducts port visit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Editors note: Media interested in attending the ship’s arrival are requested to RSVP with d1publicaffairs@uscg.mil no later than 4 p.m. Wednesday.

BOSTON — Coast Guard Cutter William Chadwick (WPC-1150) is scheduled to arrive Thursday following a transit from Key West, Fla. The newly-built William Chadwick was accepted by the Coast Guard on August 4, and will be the first of six Fast Response Cutters homeported in Boston.

The cutter’s arrival will include a water salute from the Boston Fire Department and air escort by an Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., MH-60 Jayhawk crew. Crew families, and Coast Guard personnel will be providing a pier side welcoming party for their arrival.

WHO: Lt. Cmdr. Tyler Kelley, commanding officer of the William Chadwick, along with the ship’s crew.

WHAT: Arrival of USCGC William Chadwick to Boston

WHEN: Thursday September 29, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. Media are requested to arrive by 12:30 p.m. to clear security and be escorted to the pier

WHERE: Coast Guard Base Boston, 427 Commercial St., Boston, MA 02109

The Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) is designed for multiple missions, including drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The Coast Guard has ordered 65 FRCs to replace the 1980s-era Island-class 110-foot patrol boats. The FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; over the horizon cutter boat deployment to reach vessels of interest; and improved habitability and seakeeping.

The ship’s commissioning ceremony will be held November 10, 2022 at Base Boston.

Born in Dover, New Jersey, the cutter’s namesake was a keeper of the Green Island Lifeboat Station in New Jersey and recipient of the Congressional Gold Lifesaving Medal for his rescue of the crew of the schooner George Taulane on Feb. 3, 1880. Chadwick remained keeper of Green Island Station until his retirement in August 1886.