“Genasys to equip US Navy with new LRAD 1000Xi systems” –Navy Recognition

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LRAD 1000Xi system (Picture source: Superexpo)

Navy Recognition reports,

According to information published by Yahoo on October 12, 2021, Genasys Inc. announced a $1.8 million LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device-Chuck) systems order from the U.S. Navy (Navy) under a three-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract announced in June 2020. The Navy is replacing its first-generation LRADs with next-generation LRAD 1000Xi systems.

Almost certainly a contract the Coast Guard could add on to for its own use.

There is a company data sheet here.

Happy Birthday, US Navy

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Despite inter-service rivalry, kidding, and way to many jokes about how tall we have to be, to be Coasties, we are, when the chips are down, brothers in arms. Glad they are on our side.

united states coast guard

R 131205Z OCT 21
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 376/21
SSIC 1000
SUBJ: 246TH BIRTHDAY OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY
1. On behalf of all members of our United States Coast Guard team,
I salute the Navy on 246 years of honorable service to our Nation.
2. A 13 October 1775 resolution of the Continental Congress
established the United States Navy with “a swift sailing vessel,
to carry ten carriage guns, and a proportionable number of swivels,
with eighty men, be fitted, with all possible dispatch, for a
cruise of three months…” Since that time, the U.S. Navy and the
U.S. Coast Guard have been partners in ensuring America’s national
interests are advanced across the global maritime domain. With a
shared investment in the free flow of maritime commerce, U.S. naval
power remains foundational to the global economy, as well as the
projection of national sovereignty through both rapid response and
sustained global operations.
3. We are honored to operate alongside the U.S. Navy as proud
partners in the Naval Service, and remain committed to prevailing
in day-to-day competition, crisis, and conflict with integrated
all-domain naval power focused on advancing both global prosperity
and security.
4. We look forward to continued shared success and partnership in
service to our great Nation. Happy Birthday and Semper Fortis.
5. ADM Karl L. Schultz, Commandant, United States Coast
Guard, sends.
6. Internet release is authorized.

“BAE Systems Successfully Tests APKWS Laser-Guided Rockets Against UAS” –Seapower

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An artist’s conception of an APKWS strike against an unmanned aircraft. BAE SYSTEMS

The Navy League’s on line magazine, Seapower, report the successful test of a new alternative for countering Unmanned Air Systems.

BAE Systems Inc. has successfully tested APKWS laser-guided rockets in precision strike tests against Class 2 unmanned aircraft systems at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona, the company said Oct. 11.

The 2.75-inch test rockets combined standard M151 warheads and Mk66 motors with APKWS precision guidance kits and a newly developed proximity fuze, enabling them to engage and destroy airborne drones at a fraction of the cost of traditional counter-UAS strike capabilities.

(A Class 2 UAS is 21 to 55 pounds, operates at 3500 ft or lower, and has a maximum speed of 250 knots, so its pretty small. ScanEagle is an example.)

As important as this cUAS capability may be, adding this capability to Coast Guard Units would also have the bonus of providing both a capability against a range of surface targets from small, fast, highly maneuverable craft to small ships, and at least a basic anti-aircraft capability.

Adding a launcher and the required laser designator to vessels with Mk 38 mod2/3 gun mounts should not be too difficult. The PATFORSWASIA Webber class FRCs would a good place to prototype an installation.

More on APKWS here:

“Coast Guard, NOAA to hold event to announce the discovery of U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear and arrival of U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker in Boston” –D1

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Appearing very different from its last Greenland visit in 1884, the USS Bear returned in 1944. Unlike in 1884, the Bear relied on a Coast Guard crew during World War II. As part of the Greenland Patrol, it cruised Greenland’s waters and, in October 1941, brought home the German trawler Buskø, the first enemy vessel captured by the U.S. in WWII. (Coast Guard photo)

An interesting news release from CCGD1 below. While looking for an appropriate photo, I found an earlier article, “Hunting for Bear, the Search for the Coast Guard’s Most Iconic Vessel,” by MARK A. SNELL, PH.D., U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, beginning on page 56 of the Spring 2019 issue of Proceedings of the Marine Safety and Security Council. This is the way it ends.

A few years ago, an aspiring author posted an ode about the loss of the Bear on a website known as “Ghost Stories for Lovers.” Her thoughts on the final moments of the iconic ship are an apt denouement both for the sinking of the Bear and the conclusion of this article:

“I imagine her exhaustion. I imagine the familiar rush of waves lapping against her parched skin, reawakening every memory of every youthful adventure with such
a flood of overwhelming intensity that the strength of the wind and the salt and the biting northern air that she once drank now aches. Her arthritic timbers swell and throb as they move through the rough ocean. The towline grows taut, too taut, as she struggles to keep pace with the smaller boat. Did she welcome the final gale that snapped it, I wonder, that final push of force that plunged her mast deep into her hull, into her heart, releasing nearly a century’s worth of man’s insatiable hope from her shattered bones and back into the sea from which he crawled?

“She didn’t take anyone down with her. The two sailors who were with her when it happened shivered and gaped from the rails of the tugboat that rescued them as she slipped further into the black water. Slowly. Silently. As if she were never there…”

united states coast guard

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 1st District Northeast

Media Availability: Coast Guard, NOAA to hold event to announce the discovery of U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear and arrival of U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker in Boston

Editors’ Note: Media interested in attending are requested to RSVP at 617-223-8515 or D1PublicAffairs@USCG.mil by 9:30 a.m., Oct. 13, 2021 and should arrive no later than 2:45 p.m. and must follow proper CDC guidelines for COVID-19.

BOSTON—The Coast Guard is scheduled to hold an event to discuss the discovery of the wreckage of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear and the arrival of the USCGC Healy (WAGB  20) following its recent transit of the Arctic’s Northwest Passage.

WHO: Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander, Capt. Kenneth Boda, USCGC Healy commanding officer, Coast Guard historians and representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

WHAT: The Coast Guard is announcing the findings of the wreckage of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear, a vessel of historical significance to the Arctic, and discussing the arrival of the USCGC Healy, one of the Service’s polar icebreakers.

WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, at 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: Boston Cruise Ship Terminal, 1 Black Falcon Ave. Boston, MA 02210

The USRC Bear was built in Scotland in 1874 as a steamer ship and purchased by the U.S. government in 1884 for service in the U.S. Navy as part of the rescue fleet for the Greely Expedition to the Arctic, which gave world-wide acclaim as the vessel that rescued the few survivors of that disastrous expedition. In 1885, the Bear was transferred from the Treasury Department for service in the Arctic as a Revenue Cutter and for 41 years it patrolled the Arctic performing search and rescue, law enforcement operations, conducting censuses of people and ships, recording geological and astronomical information, recording tides and escort whaling ships. Between 1886-1895, the captain of Bear was “Hell Roaring Mike” Healy. The USCGC Healy was commissioned in 1999 and named in his honor. During World War II, the Bear served during the Greenland Patrols and participated in the capture of a German spy vessel, the trawler Buskoe. It was decommissioned in 1944 and was lost at sea while being towed in 1963.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy crew, following in the Bear’s tradition of Arctic service, recently completed a transit of the Arctic Northwest Passage. Healy is one of the Coast Guard’s polar-capable icebreakers and operates as a multi-mission vessel to protect American interests in the Arctic region.

For nearly two decades, NOAA Ocean Exploration, the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries’ Maritime Heritage Program, the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development center, and a number of academic research partners have been engaged in a search for the final resting place of U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear.

For more information, please visit NOAA’s Ocean Exploration website.

“L3 Harris will continue to support MK 20 electro-optical sensor systems for US Navy ships” and Coast Guard Cutters

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L3 Harris Mk20 mod1 Electro Optic Sensor System. (Picture source Navy Recognition)

A quick nod to an often overlooked system on the NSC and I think the OPC.

Navy Recognition reports a contract award to L3Harris.

The MK20 Mod 1 has three primary functions – EOSS/GWS integration, automatic target detection and tracking, and day/night video surveillance. These functions effectively support multiple mission requirements for full-spectrum surface detection, identification, surveillance, and target assessment. The MK20 Mod 1 supports operations including anti-surface and anti-air warfare, spotting and damage assessment, target detection and identification, naval gun fire support, safety check-sight, location/track of man overboard, and channel position and navigation.

Looking Back on the Last 30 Years

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

The Coast Guard took full advantage of the “peace dividend” when the Soviet Union collapsed back in 1991 (the year I retired). All ASW equipment was removed. That was 30 years ago, so virtually every active duty Coast Guardsman has never been in the service when it had a defined war time mission.

The Chinese naval build up has changed the circumstance that made that shedding of capabilities logical.
–
The Navy decommissioned many ships. The Coast Guard retained its ships but no longer saw a need for Harpoon, sonar, torpedo tubes, etc.
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For some reason they did retain Electronic Warfare capability and CIWS. I am not sure that makes sense unless there is a plan to reintroduce warfare capabilities.
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The National Security Cutters are really to well equipped and more capable than their peacetime missions would require. Like the down graded post FRAM 378s, the NSCs have ESM/ECM, a first rate fire control system, helicopter support facilities that exceed our normal requirements, a  Phalanx CIWS, and a speed of over 25 knots. Those capabilities only make sense if additional upgrades are expected in time of war. We know that the NSCs were designed to accept 12 Mk56 VLS, but that alone does not make sense because that would only improve its defensive capabilities.
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I sometime get the feeling we want our ships to look like warships, but we don’t really care if they are effective warships.
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You don’t need to defend against cruise missile unless you are engaged in a warfare mission.
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We do seem to have embraced Gray Zone missions, including Cyber. That is all to the good, but I still don’t see that we are actively engaged in “Defense Readiness,” which, to me means planning for how we can help in an existential conflict with a near peer adversary, specifically now China and/or Russia.
–
I also don’t see that we have fully embraced the counter-terrorism mission either, since we don’t have what it takes to deal with a terrorist attack on a US port using a medium to large size vessel. Our countermeasures are just too week. We are barely equipped to take on terrorist using personal watercraft.
–
Modular sensors and weapons and coordination with the Navy Reserve appear to offer a way to prepare at minimal day to day cost, but we don’t seem to be exploiting these options. Our reservist do deploy on military missions, but are we really prepared to reorder our mission priorities and assume a significant role in naval warfare? Do we have plans as to how we will upgrade our ships? How we will train operators of equipment we don’t currently have?
–
Shortly before I retired the US and its allies defeated the Soviet Union without going to war, because we were ready to fight. At that time we knew the Coast Guard’s missions would include escorting convoys to Europe. Since then we have had three decades without a significant naval challenge, but that has ended. It is time to embrace the fact that the Coast Guard is a military service at all times and find our place in the plans for any future struggle.

Coast Guard Special Purpose Craft Law Enforcement Generation II (SPC-LE II)

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Photo: Not positive, but this seems to be the boat we are talking about. 

The DOD recently announced a boat contract, awarded through the Navy, that involves boats for the Coast Guard (you have to look pretty far down to find it).

Silver Ships Inc.,* Theodore, Alabama, was awarded an $8,239,095 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity single award contract (N00024-21-D-2205) for design and construction of up to 110 Navy 8-meter and 11-meter Surface Support Craft and Coast Guard Special Purpose Craft Law Enforcement Generation II (SPC-LE II). Work will be performed in Theodore, Alabama, and is expected to be completed in August 2023. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $51,663,787. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,242,628 (39%); fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,187,680 (39%); and fiscal 2021 other procurement (Coast Guard) funds in the amount of $1,808,787 (22%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is a small business set-aside. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website, with four offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded Sept. 30, 2021)

This is Silver Ships’ announcement.

This appears to be the boat the Coast Guard will be getting. The Coast Guard will get the “Open Center Console (Open) variant.”

Each boat will use three outboards. These are the engines specified in the contract.

Thanks to Paul for bringing this to my attention. He also provided the following that gives more detail: 

C-1 PART 1 – GENERAL STATEMENT OF WORK

This Statement of Work (SOW) defines the effort required for the, design, construction, testing, configuration control, documentation, and program management for the acquisition of the 8m variant,11m variant of the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Surface Support Craft (SSC) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) 11m variant (Special Purpose Craft Law Enforcement).

C-1.1 BACKGROUND

The 8m variant and 11m variant NSW SSC boats operate from inshore littorals to blue water, over the horizon locations, in and up to moderate sea states (NSW) in widely diverse climatic conditions (tropical to arctic). They provide over-watch and coverage for diverse NSW waterborne operations, such as: transit for at sea personnel, water parachute jump, diving, surface swimmer support, medical evacuation and command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence duties. The SSCs also provide support for all NSW garrison locations and allow NSW to certify units for deployment in support of Navy and COMNAVSPECWARCOM requirements.

The USCG will use the 11m SSC variant to conduct counter-smuggling, search and rescue (SAR), recreational boating safety (RBS), and ports and waterways coastal security (PWCS) missions and will operate in higher sea states than the USN variants.

All boat variants are desired to provide comparable to enhanced performance of current capabilities while focusing on commonality to maintain reduction in Total Ownership Costs (TOC).

The NSW SSC requires two configuration variants of the 8m and 11m, Open Center Console (Open) and Enclosed Cabin (Cabin), to support mission needs.

The USCG requires the 11m Open Center Console (Open) variant to support mission needs.

C-1.2 QUANTITIES

The resulting contract will be a 5-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for an estimated one hundred and ten (110) total craft. The initial award is for an estimated fourteen (14) boats.

C-2.2.1 Boat – The Contractor shall provide the boat and trailer in accordance with the Specification

(Attachment 1).

C-2.2.2 UID – The Contractor shall provide UIDs for each boat in accordance with Attachment 6.

C-2.2.3 Boat Specific Technical Data Package (TDP) – The contractor shall provide for each boat one (1) hard copy and one (1) electronic copy (CD/DVD) of the Final 11m OPEN USCG Variant TDP developed under CLIN 1022 specific to each boat.

C-2.2.4 Mercury Verado Engines– The Contractor shall provide three (3) Mercury Verado engines per boat in accordance with the Specification (Attachment 1). The Contractor shall complete the engine break-in in accordance with the Specification (Attachment 1) as part of the boat CLIN.

C-2.14 CLIN 1014 AND IF EXERCISED, CLINs 2014, 3014, 4014 AND 5014 – SHIPPING – USCG

STATION SAN DIEGO, CA and also USCG STATION SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX;  USCG STATION MIAMI, FL; USCG MARITIME LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY, CHARLESTON, SC.

The Contractor shall deliver the boat to the location specified in Section F (Deliveries or Performance) and in accordance with Section C, Part 3. Items not integrated into the boat shall be wrapped in protective packaging or container and shall be shipped to the same location either with the boat or via separate shipping.

C-2.18 CLIN 1018 AND IF EXERCISED CLIN 4018 – CREW FAMILIARIZATION (USCG) SAN DIEGO (and the locations listed above)

The Contractor shall provide crew familiarization and training for USCG personnel at San Diego, CA. Crew familiarization shall include craft operations, main equipment operations and maintenance. This shall include Contractor and/or OEM training and component change out for engines, electrical, and HM&E systems. At a minimum training shall be two (2) full days at End User‘s location for up to ten (10) students. The Contractor shall provide all training materials.

“Elbit Systems To Supply ASW Capabilities To An Asian-Pacific Navy” –Naval News

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Naval News Reports, Israeli defense contractor, Elbit Systems has been awarded contracts totaling about $56M to provide ASW capabilities to an unnamed Asia-Pacific country (my guess, the Philippines).

Elbit Systems will provide the Seagull™ USVs (Unmanned Surface Vessels) configured to perform ASW missions and the Towed Reelable Active Passive Sonar (TRAPS) systems. The Seagull USVs will integrate Helicopter/Ship Long-Range Active Sonars (HELRAS) and will be equipped with the Company’s autonomous suite, Combat Management System and Satellite Communication capability. The TRAPS systems, which will be installed onboard the customer’s corvettes, are low frequency variable-depth-sonars intended for detection, tracking and classification of submarines, midget submarines, surface vessels and torpedoes.

I love to see this stuff because it means there are ASW systems out there that are appropriate for cutters from the largest down to relatively small.

Using helicopter style dipping sonars on surface vessels is not new. The Soviets built a number of corvettes that used this approach (Petya, Mirka, and Koni classes), but the dipping sonars have gotten much better since then.

We have talked about TRAPS before:

HELRES, Helicopter Long Range Active Sonar, is a product of L3Harris, headquartered in Melbourne, FL.

Elbit Systems’ Seagull unmanned surface vessel. I do love this photo because it shows that even a very small vessel can launch light weight torpedoes.

 

“In Forbes: An Irked Senator Roger Wicker Goes “On Record” Over The Coast Guard” –Next Navy

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Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton leads the way for cutters Robert Goldman and Charles Moulthrope as they depart Puerto Rico April 1. National security cutter Hamilton is escorting the two fast response cutters (FRCs) across the Atlantic to Rota, Spain. From there, the FRCs will continue to their homeport of Manama, Bahrain. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Sydney Phoenix.

Next Navy comments on why despite great support in Congress, the Coast Guard is still not getting full funding.

There are other reasons, but it is hard for our friends to advocate for full funding when essentially, we don’t know what full funding is.

The current “Program of Record” dates from 2004. The last Fleet Mix Analysis, which essentially only served to show, “Yes, we really do need the Program of Record and a lot more,” was done in 2011.

Much has changed.

  • We are using the Webber class WPCs in ways not imagined in 2011.
  • We still don’t have the land based UAS that were included in the Program of Record.
  • Improved sensors and platforms, including unmanned air, surface, and subsurface are now available.
  • The Coast Guard’s aviation fleet, both fixed wing and rotary are not what was envisioned in the Program of Record.
  • The Navy’s own Maritime Domain Awareness capabilities have changed. Presumably they will share with the Coast Guard.
  • Illegal Unregulated Unreported fishing has emerged as a national security threat.
  • The Chinese have been using their Coast Guard to intimidate our friends and allies.
  • Combatant Commanders are constantly seeking Coast Guard assistance in Capacity Building in their AORs.

In spite of these substantial changes, we have not changed our Program of Record in 17 years.

By contrast the US Navy publishes a new Fleet Plan almost annually.

Congress has repeatedly directed the Coast Guard to complete a new Fleet Mix Analysis, but they have yet to see anything beyond the one ten year old study. I don’t know who is to blame for this. Is it the Coast Guard, the Department, or the Administration(s)?

The Congress is apparently not satisfied with the frequency of Navy updates.

I think they are going to have to demand the Coast Guard present a regular report bypassing the Department.

There is no way we should go more than four years between rigorous analysis of our needs. It is essential for risk analysis by all concerned parties, the Coast Guard, the Department, the Administration, and the Congress.

Proceeding without analysis is just whistling in the dark.

“Coast Guard Cutter Juniper completes patrol in Oceania” –D14

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The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Juniper (WLB 201) return to Honolulu after completing a 45-day patrol in Oceania in support of Operation ‘Aiga, Oct. 1, 2021. The Juniper is a 225-foot Juniper-Class seagoing buoy tender home-ported in Honolulu, the crew is responsible for maintaining aids to navigation, performing maritime law enforcement, port, and coastal security, search and rescue and environmental protection. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Cutter Juniper)

Another out of the ordinary patrol and an indication of interest in both illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) and our Oceania partners.

Note also used to refuel Webber class WPC USCGC Oliver Berry, also involved in the operation.

united states coast guard

News Release

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

Coast Guard Cutter Juniper completes patrol in Oceania

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

HONOLULU — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Juniper (WLB 201) returned to Honolulu after completing a 45-day patrol in Oceania in support of Operation ‘Aiga on Friday.

During the 10,000 nautical-mile patrol, the cutter’s crew conducted operations to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) and strengthened relations with foreign allies while promoting the collective maritime sovereignty and resource security of partner nations in the Indo-Pacific.

Operation “Aiga,” the Samoan word for family, is designed to integrate Coast Guard capabilities and operations with our Pacific Island Country partners in order to effectively and efficiently protect shared national interests, combat IUU fishing, and strengthen maritime governance on the high seas.

“During our deployment in Oceania, Juniper conducted fisheries enforcement in an effort to counter and deter illegal fishing activities in the Central Pacific,” said Cmdr. Chris Jasnoch, the Juniper’s commanding officer. “We were able to establish a presence on the high seas and in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in American Samoa while also patrolling our partner nation’s EEZs.”

The Juniper’s crew worked under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which strives to protect the region’s fish stocks on the high seas. The WCPFC has 26 member nations and 7 participating territories, 18 of which have enforcing authority. The United States is both a WCPFC member and an enforcing nation.

“We get to take part in a unique, rewarding mission in the Pacific,” said Lt. j.g. Ryan Burk, the operations officer on the Juniper. “We have the privilege of building and strengthening relationships with our Pacific Island partners, while protecting and preserving global resources.”

During the patrol the Juniper embarked a Mandarin linguist from the U.S. Marine Corps to query 11 foreign fishing vessels and board 4 fishing vessels, generating vital information reports for IUU in the region.

The crew also conducted joint operations with a French Navy Falcon-200 aircraft to identify and intercept vessels on the high seas. They also conducted a fueling evolution with the Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry’s crew, another participant in Operation ‘Aiga.

“We strengthened our joint capabilities with the French Navy in the fight against IUU fishing activities on the high seas in support of the WCPFC,” said Jasnoch.

To promote American Samoa’s maritime transportation system, the Juniper crew serviced vital aids to navigation in Pago Pago Harbor and in neighboring islands, demonstrating the cutter’s multi-mission capabilities.

In addition to normal buoy maintenance, Juniper accomplished the first Waterways Analysis and Management System Report for Pago Pago since 2003. This report integrates the opinions of Pago Pago Harbor’s regular users to review the relevance of existing aids and reevaluate where new aids would be useful, ensuring the sustainability and safety of the waterway.

Juniper’s crew also put together a donation box for the children in Pago Pago, including: sporting equipment, books and toys for the Boys and Girls Club of American Samoa.

“Despite COVID restrictions preventing an in-person event, it felt good to know that we made a difference,” said Ensign Elaine Weaver, the Juniper’s community relations officer.

The Juniper is a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender home-ported in Honolulu and is responsible for maintaining aids to navigation, performing maritime law enforcement, port and coastal security, search and rescue and environmental protection.

For breaking news follow us on twitter @USCGHawaiiPac