USNI Proceedings Coast Guard Issue

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USCGC Mohawk (WMEC-913), Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC-1147), and John Scheuerman (WPC-1146)

Sorry this post is going to ramble a bit.

The Prize Winning Essays: 

The August issue of the U. S. Naval Institute Proceedings is again the “Coast Guard Issue,” and includes the three winning essays in their Coast Guard Essay contest.

First prize went to prolific author and repeat winner, Cdr. Craig Allen, Jr., USCG for his “Expeditionary Cutter Deployments Should Not Be a Mission to Mars.” It talks about some of the logistical difficulties encountered. His comments about the integrated C5ISR, navigation, and engineering systems and “controlled parts exchanges (taking working parts from one cutter and installing them in another) to deploy on schedule and/or remain underway” are partiuclarly troubling.

He offered three suggestions about how to make the Coast Guard more deployable.

  • Improved cutter self-sustainability.
  • Forward operating bases
  • Mission support cutter.

I would note that large cutters are probably already have more self-sustainability than their Navy counterparts making extended single ship deployments with minimal support easier for cutters than for Navy ships, but it does sound like we have made some choices that may put those capabilities at risk.

It is probably diplomatically easier to establish a Coast Guard forward operating base than one for the Navy, particularly in Latin America. Realistically we are probably only talking about a base in the Eastern Pacific, near the drug transit zone. To make that happen would probaby require some initiative from SOUTHCOM.

Elsewhere we could probably ride the coat tails of the Navy and our allies including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands.

The mission support cutter, or, more generally, a floating base might be addressed in a number of ways. Presumably SOUTHCOM will get their own Expeditionary Sea Base. Wherever it is moored will become a defacto forward operating base. There should be room aboard for priority Coast Guard unique support requirements. Unfortunately I understand, dispite their tanker origins, they don’t carry fuel for tranfer to other ships. That is unfortunate, but probably something that could be fixed. Any kind of forward operating base could make Webber class deployments to the Eastern Pacific drug transit zones much more productive.

Effectively the Coast Guard has already been using buoy tenders as mission support cutters for Webber class in the Western Pacific.

One might think that a Navy owned MSC vessel might make a good mission support vessel, but the underway replenishment vessels they have currently, are far too large to be dedicated to supporting routine Coast Guard operations.

Something  to consider might be a routine teaming of Charleston based National Security Cutters (NSC) with District 7 Webber class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). A NSC and a pair of FRCs could make a very effective team, with the NSC providing underway replenishment for the FRCs. There are three NSC in based in Charleston now and there are expected to be five when the program is completed. There are currently 20 FRCs based in district 7. These ships are the closest of their type to the Eastern Pacific Drug Transit Zones.

Second prize went to “The World’s Fishermen as a Maritime Sensor Network,” by Lieutenant Holden Takahashi, USCG, that suggest a cell phone based reporting system could provide additional eyes to Maritime Domain Awareness systems.

Third prize went to “Lost At Sea: Teaching, Studying, and Promoting Coast Guard History,” by Lt. Christopher Booth, USCG, and Mark Snell, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary contending,

“To foster pride in its heritage and promote its historic accomplishments to the public, the Coast Guard cannot continue to ignore its past. It must make a major shift in how it approaches, teaches, promotes, and preserves its history. The Coast Guard must rescue the history and heritage of “that long line of expert seamen” and their contributions to the nation, so they are no longer lost at sea.”

Other Posts of Interest:

There are also other posts that directly address the Coast Guard or at least would involve the Coast Guard.

“A Campaign Plan for the South China Sea,” by Captain Joshua Taylor, U.S. Navy advocates for persistent low-end presence.

A South China Sea campaign that translates these principles into action in a resource- and diplomatically constrained—but feasible and effective—manner should be organized around the following lines of effort and accompanying messages:

  • Beat Cop. Persistent low-end presence—“The United States has skin in the game.”
  • Neighborhood Watch. Build a regional coalition— “We are stronger together.”
  • Vigilance. Information sharing—“We are always watching.”

ln terms of information sharing, also mentioned was this Maritime Domain Awareness program that I was not aware of.

Since 2016, the United States has invested more than $425 million through the Maritime Security Initiative to help Indo-Pacific countries develop the ability to “sense, share, and contribute” to a regional recognized maritime picture (RMP). While some of these funds have purchased secure communication systems, the standout success story has been the U.S. Department of Transportation’s unclassified web-based SeaVision maritime domain awareness and coordination tool. Drawing on government and commercially contracted datastreams, SeaVision fuses information from terrestrial and satellite Automated Identification System data, the satellite Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite, satellite synthetic aperture radar, and—soon—satellite electronic signal detection to form a high-quality unclassified RMP that could support a countercoercion campaign in the South China Sea. Indeed, naval services throughout Southeast Asia already use it—with the notable exception of the U.S. Navy.

(My own ideas for a persistent low-end presence are here, Combined Maritime Security Task Force Pacific.)

“The Coast Guard’s Firefighting Fiction,” by Chief Boatswain’s Mate Phillip Null, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired) suggests the Coast Guard should take a more active role in marine fire fight.

“Recent tragedies have shown the need for the Coast Guard to revisit its stance on firefighting, not to supplant municipalities or absolve them of their responsibilities, but to support them with real capabilities and expertise and to provide capability in unprotected waters to avert tragedy. The Coast Guard trains and equips its cutter crews to combat fires on board their own vessels, the success of which was recently demonstrated on board the cutter Waesche (WMSL-751) during a Pacific transit.8 Now it needs only to increase the capacity and foam-delivery capability of the pumps carried on its boats, expand the training and equipment available to its boat crews who operate in coastal regions where fire poses the greatest threat, and revise policies that limit involvement and inhibit on-scene decision-making even in unprotected waters.

While on the topic of maritime firefighting, take a look at this post by Cdr Sal, “How Many Fireboats Can You Buy for $1.2 Billion?” that discusses the Navy’s lack of fireboats. In so many cases, a less than optimal resourse on scene in a timely manner is far better that the perfect resource arriving late. Perhaps Coast Guard assets could have helped.

Some people in the Coast Guard are thinking about major ship fires, “Coast Guard, Long Beach and LA fire departments train for maritime fires.“

Today Show on Cutter Eagle

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Al Roker of the Today Show took a ride on Eagle and the video above was the result. Nice to see the service get some national recognition. Perhaps important to see what the Nation sees of us, even if it did look like a lot of brass polishing. Too bad no shots looking down from the rigging.

I was a little surprised to see Eagle still has an old fashioned motor surf boat not much different from the one on my first ship, 53 years ago. Would have expected an RHIB.

Thanks to Lee for bringing this to my attention. 

“Coast Guard selects builder for next-generation over the horizon cutter boats” –CG-9

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Over the horizon V cutter boat line drawing. Image courtesy of Inventech Marine Solutions.

The Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9) has announced award of a contract for a new class of 8 meter, Over the Horizon Cutter Boats.

The Coast Guard selected Inventech Marine Solutions of Bremerton, Washington, to build the next generation of over the horizon (OTH V) cutter boats. The first delivery order for four OTH Vs was placed Aug. 3 with a value of $1.973 million. These four OTH Vs will be used for operational test and evaluation before the program moves to full production. The 10-year contract supports delivery of up to 200 boats with a total value of approximately $103 million.

Beyond the similarities of speed and weight between the OTH V and the OTH IV it is replacing, the OTH V will include improved waterjet control technology, the second generation Scalable Integrated Navigation System, new generation communications equipment and the Coast Guard’s first boat shock monitoring system, which will provide the crew with real-time information on wave impact severity. The OTH V is powered by a marine diesel engine and waterjet, with a top speed of approximately 40 knots and a range in excess of 170 nautical miles. The dimensions are limited to 26 feet long by 8.5 feet wide, with a maximum performance weight of 8,700 pounds, to ensure compatibility with the various Coast Guard cutters it will support.

The Coast Guard awarded four OTH V indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts in June 2021, purchasing one boat from each contractor. Following delivery of the boats, the Coast Guard detailed five test crews to Norfolk, Virginia, to operate the boats for nearly four months in side-by-side simulated operational events to help identify the best value contract for follow-on production. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, Detachment Norfolk documented particulars of the performance and provided test facilities and support.

The Coast Guard will deploy the OTH V across the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet to national security cutters, fast response cutters, offshore patrol cutters, legacy medium endurance cutters, future polar security cutters and in-service polar icebreakers.

OTH V cutter boats will support almost all mission areas, with emphasis on search and rescue; drug and migrant interdiction; living marine resources; defense readiness; and ports, waterways and coastal security.

For more information: Boat Acquisition Program page

Happy Coast Guard Day

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U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle (WIX 327), arrives in New York City, N.Y., Aug. 15, 2019. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cory D. Payne)

USCGC Mohawk (WMEC-913), Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC-1147), and John Scheuerman (WPC-1146)

Feco and his handler Petty Officer 1st Class Cory Sumner, members of Maritime Safety and Security Team San Francisco, are being hoisted to an Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter during training in San Francisco Bay, April 13, 2021. Hoist training allows the canine and their handler to get comfortable working in and around aircraft. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Taylor Bacon)

Coast Guard canine Kelly and her handler Petty Officer 2nd Class Jacob Brasker, members of Maritime Safety and Security Team Los Angeles/Long Beach, await a hoisting line from an Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter during training in San Francisco Bay, April 13, 2021. Hoist training allows the canine and their handler to get comfortable working in and around aircraft. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Taylor Bacon)

USCGC Cushing sails past the Statue of Liberty

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James arrives at its new homeport of Charleston, S.C. Aug. 28, 2015. The James is the fifth of eight planned National Security Cutters – the largest and most technologically advanced class of cutters in the Coast Guard’s fleet. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Melissa Leake)

USCGC Munro (WMSL 755) crewmember Petty Officer 2nd Class Kurt Chlebek, a boatswains mate, is greeted by his dog after Munro returned to their homeport in Alameda, California, Oct. 20, 2021, following a 102-day, 22,000 nautical mile multi-mission deployment. Munro’s crew departed Alameda in July for a Western Pacific patrol and operated in support of United States Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees military operations in the region.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Matt Masaschi.

A Coast Guard air crew member helps transport a critically injured child from the helicopter to awaiting emergency medical services at Port au Prince, Haiti, Aug. 15. (Lt. David Steele/Coast Guard)

USCGC Gallatin WHEC -721 (378), USCGC Rockaway WHEC-377 (311), and USCGC Spencer WHEC-36 (327)

The Coast Guard Cutter Bridle breaks ice on the Penobscot River in Maine March 17, 2015. Operation renewable energy for Northeast Winters. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Marc Moore)

U.S. Coast Guard Ensign Morgan Garrett, 24 years old, from Weddington, N.C., died in an Oct. 23, 2020, crash of a Navy T-6B Texan II trainer aircraft in Foley, Ala. US Navy photo.

 

Five 311 foot WHECs en route Vietnam

A convoy of Landing Craft Infantry (Large) sails across the English Channel toward the Normandy Invasion beaches on D-Day, 6 June 1944. Each of these landing craft is towing a barrage balloon for protection against low-flying German aircraft. Among the LCI(L)s present are: LCI(L)-56, at far left; LCI(L)-325; and LCI(L)-4. Photograph from the U.S. Coast Guard Collection in the U.S. National Archives.

North Vietnamese 100′ Trawler
burns on a South Vietnamese beach after being forced ashore by USCGC POINT LEAGUE, on 20 June 1966. It was carrying an estimated 250 tons of supplies for the Viet Cong. USN 1116663

USS Pride (DE-323), Coast Guard manned destroyer escort

USCGC Campbell (WPG-32) heading to port at Norfolk Navy Yard. 26 July 1943. US National Archives, photo 80-G-76569

USCGC Thetis (WPC-115)

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bruckenthal participates in a fueling exercise with the Coast Guard Cutter Campbell on the Chesapeake Bay, April 11, 2020. The Coast Guard acquired the first Sentinel Class cutter in 2012, with the namesake of each cutter being one of the service’s many enlisted heroes. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Isaac Cross)

USCGC Spencer (WPG-36) in 1942 or 1943. Spencer sank U-175 with assistance of USCGC Duane, on April 17, 1943.

A U.S. Coast Guard Boeing PB-1G Fortress carrying a lifeboat in 1948. The USCG used the PB-1G from 1945 to 1959. US Coast Guard photo 5261

Photograph of Ellsworth P. Bertholf, Commandant of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service from 1911 to 1915 and Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard from 1915 to 1919. Coast Guard photo.

“Convoy WS-12: A Vought SB2U Vindicator scout bomber from USS Ranger (CV-4) flies anti-submarine patrol over the convoy, while it was en route to Cape Town, South Africa, 27 November 1941. The convoy appears to be making a formation turn from column to line abreast. Two-stack transports in the first row are USS West Point (AP-23) — left –; USS Mount Vernon (AP-22) and USS Wakefield (AP-21). Heavy cruisers, on the right side of the first row and middle of the second, are USS Vincennes (CA-44) and USS Quincy (CA-39). Single-stack transports in the second row are USS Leonard Wood (AP-25) and USS Joseph T. Dickman (AP-26).”

Coast Guard Lieutenant Junior Grade Shane Gunderson and Investigative Service agent Bobby Brisby deliver relief supplies to victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

LOS ANGELES – Lt. j.g. Lashanda Holmes stands in front of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter at Air Station Los Angeles, Aug. 17, 2010. Holmes, from Fayetteville, N.C., is the first female African-American helicopter pilot in the Coast Guard. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Eggers

Miami-class cutter USCGC Tampa photographed in harbour, prior to the First World War. Completed in 1912 as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Miami, this ship was renamed Tampa in February 1916. On 26 September 1918, while operating in the English Channel, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German Submarine UB-91. All 131 persons on board Tampa were lost with her, the largest loss of life on any U.S. combat vessel during the First World War. Official U.S. Navy photo NH 1226 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command

USCG Cmdr Harold S. Berdine of cutter Spencer talking with US Navy Capt Paul Heineman of the Escort Group A-3 after sinking German submarine U-175, North Atlantic, 500 nautical miles WSW of Ireland, 17 Apr 1943. US Coast Guard photo by Jack January

A LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) from the U.S. Coast Guard-manned USS Samuel Chase disembarks troops of Company E, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) wading onto the Fox Green section of Omaha Beach (Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France) on the morning of June 6, 1944. American soldiers encountered the newly formed German 352nd Division when landing. During the initial landing two-thirds of Company E became casualties.

Lt. Crotty, captured in the Philippines and died in a Japanese POW camp.

USCGC Duane on North Atlantic Convoy Duty

Coast Guard manned Destroyer Escort USS Menges, victim of a German Acoustic Homing Torpedo, May, 1944

USCGC Mellon seen here launching a Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile in 1990.

Escanaba rescuing survivors from USAT Dorchester. USCG Image.

The 83-foot Coast Guard cutter USCG 1 off Omaha Beach on the morning of D-Day, tied up to an LCT and the Samuel Chase

“Crew of CG-16 pointing to the tally board of 126 rescued soldiers.”
Photo courtesy of Terry Hannigan.
(NOT AN OFFICIAL USCG PHOTOGRAPH)

“Blount Boats delivers icebreaking buoy tender” –Marine Log

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Marine Log reports,

Delivered earlier this year by the Blount Boats shipyard in Warren, R.I., an icebreaking buoy tender ordered in July 2020, the M/V Eddie Somers, is now in service with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Homeported at Somers Cove Marina port at Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield, Md., the 94 x 27 foot vessel will replace the M/V J. Milliard Tawes after nearly 50 years’ service.

There is a better description of the vessel in a 2020 post reporting the construction contract award.

I found this particularly interesting,

Under a cooperative agreement with Virginia and the U.S. Coast Guard, the M/V Somers will also provide this service to Tangier Island in Virginia when requested. During heavy ice seasons, all food, fuel, medicine, and emergency transport going to and from the islands are supplied by the vessel.

Frequently there is talk of the Coast Guard shedding missions. Domestic icebreaking is perhaps one of those that might be considered. Here is a state taking responsibility for at least some elements of domestic icebreaking and at least shallow water buoy tending. Domestic icebreaking might be seen as a Federal subsidy for areas that experience icing.

The Coast Guard, as the agent of domestic icebreaking, makes the most sense when it can be done by vessels that have other missions when icebreaking is not required. Federal funding of domestic icebreaking makes the most sense when it facilitates interstate and international commerce. Like this particular vessel, Coast Guard vessels frequently combine both domestic icebreaking and buoytending capabilities as in the 225 foot buoy tenders and USCGC Mackinaw.

Looking at this vessel, it looks a lot like our proposed Waterways Commerce Cutters. Makes me wonder if an icebreaking capability for at least some of them might be a good idea, if that is not already in the plan?

Thanks to a reader for bringing this to my attention. 

What Ever Happened to the “Six Bitters?”

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Port side view of USS Cumberland as a receiving ship, US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, 1938 with former USCG 75 foot patrol boats in the foreground.

Just a small footnote in Coast Guard histroy I stumbled across. Apparently, 51 Coast Guard prohibition era 75 foot “six bitter” patrol boats were sold to the Navy in 1933/34 and at least a few of them ended up at the Naval Academy as training ships for midshipmen.

The link above “U.S.C.G. Patrol Craft Built before WWII (Six-Bitters, WPC, WSC)” “…lists the 317 patrol craft built or acquired by the U.S. Coast Guard from its organization in 1915 through the start of WWII.” I have added the link to my Heritage page.

“Coast Guard Cutter Eagle to offer news media embark, public tours, during visit to New York City” –D1

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U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle (WIX 327), arrives in New York City, N.Y., Aug. 15, 2019. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cory D. Payne)

Just passing this along.

Media Advisory U.S. Coast Guard 1st District

Coast Guard Cutter Eagle to offer news media embark, public tours, during visit to New York City

Due to limited space, media interested in attending the availability aboard the Eagle must RSVP with Daniel.L.Henry@USCG.mil no later than Wednesday\, Aug. 3, at 12 p.m. Government-issued identification and media credentials are required. Details on the specific embarking location will be available upon RSVP inquiry to Daniel.L.Henry@USCG.mil. Due to space constraints, media pooling may be required.

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

WHO: Coast Guard Cutter Eagle crew

WHAT: News media availability aboard the Eagle while anchored near Statue of Liberty.

WHEN: Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

NEW YORK — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, “America’s Tall Ship,” is scheduled to arrive in New York, Friday.

The Eagle will moor at Pier 86 in Manhattan, adjacent to the Intrepid Air & Space Museum Aug. 5-7, and will be open for free public tours.

Tours will be available the following date and times:

  • Friday (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.)
  • Saturday (11a.m. to 6 p.m.)
  • Sunday (11a.m. to 6 p.m.)

Note: Tours for military and first responders (with valid I.D.) begin one hour prior to posted tour times on Saturday and Sunday.

At 295 feet in length, Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in United States government service. Eagle has served as a classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering an at-sea leadership and professional development experience as part of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy curriculum. This summer, Coast Guard Academy Cadets completed a transatlantic voyage and experienced port calls in Azores, Iceland, and Bermuda.

Eagle is a three-masted barque with more than 22,300 square feet of sail and 6 miles of rigging. The cutter was constructed in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. Originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German navy, Eagle was a war reparation for the United States following World War II.

Additional information about the Eagle can be found here. The Eagle’s design dimensions can be found here.

For more information about Eagle, including port cities, tour schedules, and current events, follow the “United States Coast Guard Barque EAGLE” Facebook page or on Instagram @barqueeagle. All U.S. Coast Guard imagery is in the public domain and is encouraged to be shared widely.

“U.S. embarks on ‘new chapter’ with Pacific island nations” –Indo-Pacific Defense Forum

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Indo-Pacific Defense Forum reports on promised new initiatives…the U.S. will:

  • Establish U.S. embassies in Kiribati and Tonga.
  • Ask the U.S. Congress to commit U.S. $60 million annually for the next 10 years for fisheries assistance. That’s almost triple the current U.S. funding for the South Pacific Tuna Treaty.
  • Appoint a U.S. envoy to the PIF, which White House officials view as the region’s preeminent leadership body.
  • Establish a U.S. strategy on the Pacific Islands, which will complement the nation’s Indo-Pacific Strategy released in February 2022.
  • Return Peace Corps volunteers to the Pacific islands.
  • Work toward reestablishing a Pacific mission of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Fiji.
  • Advance the Partners in the Blue Pacific, a multilateral bloc formed in 2022 and comprised of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the U.S., to promote Pacific interests internationally.

(Seems like France should also be a member of Partners in the Blue Pacific.)

The US Coast Guard will certainly have a role in executing these initiatives, including continued cooperation in countering Illegal, Unregulated, Unreported (IUU) fishing, capacity building, and assignment of Coast Guard attaches to facilitate cooperation.

A base in American Samoa is looking more likely all the time.

“Eastern Shipbuilding Protests US Coast Guard Award to Austal USA” –What’s Going On With Shipping Video

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The commentator here, Salvatore Mercogliano, has a regular podcast. Usually he talks about the merchant marine, but he has chosen to take a look at the history of the Offshore Patrol Cutter program and the two shipyards that have been contracted to build them. His views are well balanced and informative. It is a worthwhile 15 minutes. 

Thanks to Lee for bringing this to my attention. 

 

Contracts For “Continued Studies of a Large Unmanned Surface Vessel”

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MetalCraft Marine 7 meter “The Watcher” Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV)

I have to believe that the Navy’s efforts in Unmanned Surface Vessels will ultimately have a significant implact on the way the Coast Guard does its business, so a recent series of contract awards reported in “The US Department of Defense Daily Digest Bulletin, Contracts for July 29, 2022” is of interest. 

Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, Wisconsin, is awarded a $10,212,620 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6317 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,841 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC, Lockport, Louisiana, is awarded a $9,428,770 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6316 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $13,958,770. Work will be performed in Lockport, Louisiana, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,933 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Austal USA LLC, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $9,115,310 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6315 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $13,285,309. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September, 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,878 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Gibbs & Cox Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded an $8,981,231 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6318 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $15,071,231. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,899 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.