You have probably heard that HMS Defender was confronted by Russian military forces during a transit off Crimea. The Russians claim they dropped bombs in the path of the British Destroyer and that the Russian Coast Guard fired warning shots. The British say it did not happen. I can’t comment on the claim of bombs being dropped, but lets look at the evidence the Russians provided of warning shots, it the form of the photo above. 

Let’s do a little photo interpretation. The Russian ship firing is apparently a Rubin class Coast Guard cutter.

The gun is the AK-630, a 30mm Gatling gun. It is claimed to be effective against surface targets out to 5,000 meters or about 5,500 yards. It is an awsome weapon at close range, but its absolute maximum ballistic range is 8,860 yards (8,100 m).

HMS Defender, if that is the ship identified as such, is on the extreme horizon and might actually be somewhere beyond the visual horizon. Looking at the Rubin class cutter, it appears that the photo was taken from the Bridge or perhaps more likely, the flying bridge, on deck above to avoid reflections off the bridge windows. That puts the height of eye at about 30, or more likely 40 feet. We can calculate the distance to the horizon.

1.17 times the square root of your height of eye in feet = Distance to the horizon in nautical miles.

From a height of eye of 30 feet, the visual horizon is 6.4 nautical miles or more than 12,800 yards away. If the photo was taken from a height of 40 feet the distance to the visual horizon is 7.4 nautical miles or about 14,800 yards.

So HMS Defender was probably a minimum of 4000 yards or two nautical miles beyond the maximum range of the 30mm. In addition the gun was not pointed at the destroyer so the projectiles landed more than two miles from the Destroyer.

HMS Defender had no reason to believe that the shooting had any thing to do with them.

What we have here is a bite of theater. The Russians claim that fired warning shots while doing it in such a way that the British attached no significance to the firing.

The Drive seems to have come to the same conclusion.

I am afraid all I have is the head line and the lead in to a story behind a pay wall. I expect we will learn more.

“Cutting of steel on the first new Coast Guard heavy polar icebreaker could happen in the coming months, which is close to a year later than originally expected, but the forecast to start production still appears hazy.”

Six years behind schedule, Bairdmaritime reports the delivery of a new icebreaker.

“Russian port operator Rosmorport recently took delivery of Viktor Chernomyrdin, the largest diesel-electric icebreaker ever built by a Russian shipyard….Viktor Chernomyrdin boasts a length of 146.8 metres, a moulded beam of 29 metres, a minimum draught of 8.5 metres, a maximum draught of 9.7 metres, and a displacement of approximately 19,070 tonnes. Because the vessel’s draught is variable, it can sail in inland waterways and other shallow areas aside form its primary area of operations that encompasses the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland.”

This ship is slightly larger than the planned Polar Security Cutter, but is apparently less powerful (33,600 HP compared to 45,200 for the PSC). Using the Coast Guard classification, she is a medium icebreaker. But unlike many other Russian Icebreakers, this one seems to be capable of transiting to Antarctica if required.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board signed an updated memorandum of Uunderstanding (MOU). Marine Link has the story.

The Navy League’s on-line edition of their magazine “Seapower” reports on the Commandant’s testimony before Congress on June 23.

As might be expected, there was a pitch for the Polar Security Cutters. I was pleased to see that the Commandant sighted not only a need for greater presence in the Arctic, but also in the Antarctic. Sooner or later, disputed claims will come to the fore there. I don’t think the existing treaty will be continued after its current expiration date, 2048, and we might see conflict before that.

There was also an interesting description of Healy’s next voyage,

“He said the Coast Guard is sending the medium icebreaker USCGC Healy to the Arctic this summer for some scientific research for about 30 days, followed by a transit of the Northwest Passage over the north coast of Canada. Some Canadian researchers, British sailors and others will be on board the Healy for the voyage. Current plans call for a port call in Greenland and then return to Seattle via the Panama Canal.”

There does seem to be a misstatement in the report, probably the reporter confused Dutch and Danish,

“Shultz also pointed out that Coast Guard medium-endurance cutters have exercised with Dutch and French forces in the Arctic region.” 

The exercise was with the Canadian, French, and Danish Forces (and here).

And the Commandant did not stop at recommending three heavy and three medium icebreakers. “… Four to six heavy icebreakers are what we really need, and we need some medium breakers.”

China’s continued incursions into the Philippines’ EEZ have been ratchetting up the tension in the South China Sea. Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte attempted to work with the Chinese, but that has been unrewarding and it now appears the Philippines is beginning to push back.

The Washington Post reviews the US commitment to defense of the Philippines.

On one hand we might say that, since we no longer have bases in the Philippines what does the US get out of our mutual defense agreement? But on the other hand, we don’t want to see the Philippines become a Chinese satellite.

An overview from Indo-Pacific Defense Forum, of why the Chinese fishing fleet is an existential threat to some Pacific Island nations.

While on one hand the Chinese impoverish these nations they then offer loans for projects that frequently fail, leaving the countries in debt to China.

This is why there is increasing recognition of the Coast Guard’s importance in cooperative fisheries enforcement.

It may also be why we may see some cutters in Palau.

It appears a loitering munition, particularly suitable for Coast Guard use, is entering the Navy’s inventory. Essentially these “suicide drones” are small, short range, cruise missile with the unique feature of having a man in the loop who can evaluate the progress of the mission, switch targets, or abort the mission at his discretion. We talked about these earlier.

Naval News reports that the Marines are buying the UVision Hero-120 for installation on their Light Armored Vehicle-Mortar (LAV-M), Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) and Long Range Unmanned Surface Vessel (LRUSV). The latter could be of particular significance to the Coast Guard in that the installation will be on a boat, unmanned, but still a boat, and in fact a relatively small boat.

The Hero-120 is relatively small. It is shipped and stored in a cannister that is also its launcher.

Weight: 12.5 kg (27.6 pounds)
Warhead: 4.5 (10 pounds)
Range: 40 km (21.6 nautical miles)
Endurance (min): 60
Engine: Electrical

The Long Range Unmanned Surface Vessel (LRUSV) is being built by Metal Shark and apparently uses the hull of the Navy’s new 40 foot patrol boat.

While I think these weapons have a place on most of the larger Coast Guard patrol craft, for the purpose of destroying small, fast, highly maneuverable craft that might be used in a terror attack, they really look like a good upgrade for the Webber class being deployed to Bahrain.

A short post in Naval News that reported the deployment of a Schiebel Camcopter UAS on a Finnish Coast Guard Cutter prompted me to look up the cutter involved, and it proved interesting for a couple of reasons,

• its unique propulsion system and
• the fact that it can break ice in spite of a bulbous bow.

Wartsila.com provides the information (excerpt below).

“TURVA is powered by three environmentally friendly Wärtsilä 34DF series dual-fuel engines capable of burning both diesel fuel as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG). For redundancy and safe return to port, the engines are arranged in two independent engine rooms divided by a watertight bulkhead. In the aft engine room, a 12-cylinder Wärtsilä 12V34DF producing 6400kW is mechanically coupled to a controllable pitch propeller. In the forward engine room, two 6L34DF generating sets with an output of 3000kW each produce power for two electrically-driven Azipull AZP120CP thrusters. If the forward engine room is damaged, the shaft generator coupled to the bigger engine can be used to produce electricity for the azimuth thrusters, which are required for steering the vessel as she has no separate rudders, and other onboard systems. Since the azimuth thrusters are powered by electric motors and the centerline shaft is mechanically coupled to the main engine, the propulsion system as a whole could be referred to as “combined diesel-electric and diesel” (CODLAD). TURVA is the first ship fitted with this type of propulsion arrangement – two azimuth thrusters and a centerline shaft – which was originally developed for icebreakers and icegoing LNG carriers. For maneuvering and DP2 class dynamic positioning, the ship has a transverse bow thruster and a retractable azimuth thruster in the bow.

“The service speed of the vessel will be 18 knots and despite her bulbous bow she will also be capable of breaking level ice up to 0.80m in thickness. With a bollard pull of approximately 100t, TURVA is capable of towing even the largest tankers regularly sailing in the Baltic Sea.“

Below is a news release from the Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9). The greater range and endurance will be particularly helpful for countering Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported fishing in the Pacific.

Coast Guard begins HC-130J operations at Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii

June 17, 2021 —

CGNR 2008 arrives at Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, June 11, 2021. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, received its first HC-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft June 11. The older HC-130Hs at the station are being replaced with the more capable Super Hercules aircraft; the current schedule has a fleet of four HC-130Js in Barbers Point by the end of summer 2022. Air Station Barbers Point will be the third of five air stations to transition to the Super Hercules.

The HC-130J features more advanced engines and propellers, which provide a 20% increase in speed and altitude and a 40% increase in range over the HC-130H Hercules. Another notable difference is the liquid oxygen system, which allows crews to fly at higher altitudes, providing a better vantage point for many missions. These aircraft have a modernized glass cockpit, the capability to execute GPS approaches, and are outfitted with the Minotaur Mission System Suite, which provides increased capabilities for use of the sensors, radar and intelligence-gathering equipment.

“These new capabilities of the HC-130J will be particularly helpful operating despite the tyranny of distance,” said Gerald Foreman, program manager of the HC-130J program. “The increased performance will improve range, on-scene time and airfield access to better execute long-range search and rescue, patrol and logistical support missions across the vast 12.2 million square miles of open ocean, atolls and island nations that comprise (Air Station Barbers Point’s) area of operations.”

The Coast Guard currently operates 13 HC-130Js as part of its long range surveillance aircraft fleet, with Coast Guard Air Stations Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and Kodiak, Alaska, fully converted. Two C-130Js are undergoing missionization with deliveries expected in September 2021 and June 2022. Three additional C-130Js are under contract, with delivery in 2023, 2024 and 2025. In addition to continued Minotaur missionization efforts on new aircraft, the service plans to complete the block 8.1 upgrade on all its HC-130J aircraft to maintain platform common configuration and meet modern airspace operations requirements.

The service’s fleet of HC-130Js is the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) largest airlift asset, carrying out many Coast Guard missions, including search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, cargo and personnel transport, and maritime stewardship as well as providing critical support to DHS partners. The aircraft also can serve as a command and control or surveillance platform capable of identifying and classifying objects and sharing that information with operational forces.

Related:

Air Station Barbers Point receives special delivery for Aloha Friday

For more information: HC-130J Long Range Surveillance Aircraft program and Minotaur program page