Back in May the Coast Guard issued a Request for Information (RFI) for two classes of small domestic icebreakers. The “Big Beautiful Bill” included $816 million for light and medium Icebreaking Cutters that were presumably included in the 17 new icebreakers that were reportedly funded by the bill.

Turns out the Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9) has a section devoted to domestic icebreakers. They are now referring to these as “Homeland Security Cutters–Light, Medium, and Heavy.

The “Heavy” will be about the size and capability of USCGC Mackinaw and will augment rather than replace Mackinaw.

The eleven planned “Mediums” will replace the nine 140 foot icebreaking tugs (WTGB).

The seven planned “Lights” (pictured above) will replace the 65 foot tugs (WYTL). There are currently six WYTLs in active service and five “In Service, Special”status.  It appears the “Light” will be the first to see completion.

The Coast Guard is developing a contract design to be included within its planned request for proposal. The Coast Guard will solicit a contract in 2026 to include completion of the production design and construction.

I have repeated below some of the information found on the CG-9 site below.

Homeland Security Cutter Light Icebreakers (HSC-L)

The Coast Guard’s Homeland Security Cutter-Light Icebreakers (HSC-L) program is modernizing its domestic icebreaking fleet by combining icebreaking and aids to navigation (ATON) functions into a single, versatile vessel. These vessels are designed to replace the aging 65-foot WYTL light icebreaking tugs, ensuring year-round support for the Marine Transportation System in the Coast Guard Northeast and East districts.
HSC-L’s new design reduces crew requirements, training demands, maintenance needs and sustainment costs while enhancing operational efficiency and mission readiness.

The Heavy, Medium, and Light designations don’t square with how the Coast Guard has been classifying icebreakers for the last few years. Additionally, the “Homeland Security Cutters” title is appropriate. It sounds too much like the National Security Cutter which might lead to confusion and it implies that other cutters are not “Homeland Security Cutters” which, really, they all are. I would call them:

• Great Lakes Icebreaker (the Heavy)
• Light Icebreaker (the Mediums)
• Icebreaking buoy boat (the Light)

More descriptive.

Thanks to Walter for bring this to my attention. 

21 round Rolling Airframe Missile launcher. Image credit Darkone via Wikipedia.

Since RAM is going on the FF(X) and could easily go on either the National Security Cutters and the Offshore Patrol Cutters, Thought I would pass along this short article about the system.

Baird reports,

The Colombian Navy took delivery of a new offshore patrol vessel (OPV) on Saturday, January 31.

The future ARC 24 de Julio is the lead ship of a new class of OPVs to be built by Colombian shipyard Cotecmar.

It is a pretty typical OPV, a bit larger than a WMEC270:

• Length: 93 meters (305 ft)
• Beam: 14 meters (46 ft)
• Draft: 3.9 meters (12.8 ft)

A poster at the Pentagon, Dec. 12, 2025, lets employees know that a new artificial intelligence tool is available to use at the War Department, and that employees are highly encouraged to use it. (Credit: C. Todd Lopez, DOW)

Defense Scoop reports,

“Almost two months after the Pentagon deployed GenAI.mil on government desktops across its sprawling workforce, all but one of the military services have formally declared the asset to be their teams’ AI platform of choice.

“In response to questions from DefenseScoop on Monday, a Pentagon official said that there have been “1.1 million unique users” on GenAI.mil to date.”

Guess which armed service is not using this particular AI tool?

Not sure I would want a subordinate to rely too much on AI, but it is sure to be used. My limited experience is that AI tells me something I would have found by googling the question but it doesn’t give me the source of the information so I have less confidence.

Of course I have no experience with GenAI.mil, maybe it is better.

I am also uncomfortable with having Secretary Hegseth standing in for Uncle Sam. Are they going to take down the posters when we get a new Secretary? The poster would be inappropriate for use by the Coast Guard.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) conducts a passing exercise with the Royal Canadian Navy ship HMCS Regina while Kimball patrols the Bering Sea, July 18, 2024. During Kimball’s 122-day patrol, the crew also interacted with strategic partners in Victoria, Canada, strengthening relationships by focusing on shared interests in the Bering Sea and the expanding Artic region. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ensign James Bongard.

The Indo-Pacific Defense Forum has a report on an exercise that indicates some degree of cooperation between the Coast Guard and the Air Force.

A key drill involved two B-52s simulating a long-range maritime strike. In a display of joint force precision, the bombers received targeting data from the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Kimball and U.S. Navy assets, allowing their crews to acquire targets from a significant distance and simulate a weapons engagement.

From SixtyDegreesNorth

SixtyDegreesNorth reviews the prospects for replacing the National Science Foundation’s leased Antarctic Research Ship, Nathaniel B. Palmer. Along the way, they suggest that the MPPS100 version of the Arctic Security Cutter appears to be a good candidate to fill this role.

USCGC Healy is already hosting scientific research in the Arctic, so such a role would not be unexpected.

The program name, “Arctic Security Cutter,” suggests these ships would not be used in Antarctica, but I doubt that will be the case.

The article also notes that while Healy is expected to receive a service life extension, it is only expected to add five years to the life of the ship. Having been commissioned in 2000, I presume that means she is expected to be decommissioned in 2035, so if the Coast Guard plans to retain an icebreaker configured for scientific research, it will likely have to  use one of the fourteen currently planned (three Polar Security Cutters, five Davie/Helsinki MPPS 100, and six Bollinger/RMC Multi-Purpose Icebreakers).

The report does seem to indicate that Davie and Helsinki have been awarded contracts for five ships, but while that is anticipated, I don’t think it has happened yet. It may have been pending acquisition of the shipyard in Texas where Davie is expected to build these ships. That deal only closed January 9, 2026.

Davie’s proposal for the USCG Arctic Security Cutter.

Canadian Coast Guard Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI). Source: Seaspan
Note: The MPI image does not show the right propulsors; it will use Steerprop’s contra-rotating propulsors (CRP). Additionally according to Seaspan, the design could easily be upgraded to PC3. Confirmation from Seaspan and Aker Arctic.

Sixty Degrees North provides an excellent overview of what happened in the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Seaway including both the US and Canadian Coast Guards.

There is a particularly interesting paragraph,

“As I reported in the December U.S. Coast Guard Roundup, the U.S. Coast Guard is looking to expand its domestic (i.e. Great Lakes) icebreaking fleet by adding 18 new icebreaker— ten Homeland Security Cutter-Mediums (HSC-Ms) to replace the Bay-class, and seven Homeland Security Cutter-Light (HSC-Ls) to replace its aging 65-foot light icebreaking tugs (WYTLs) and 49-foot buoy utility stern loading boats (BUSLs). There is also a U.S. Coast Guard web page for a Homeland Security Cutter-Heavy (HSC-H), a vessel designed to augment the Great Lakes heavy icebreaker Mackinaw , although there is (as of today) no official Request for Information (RFI).”

The author also speculates,

Interestingly, the Canadian Coast Guard plans on replacing its older light icebreakers with the Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (previously called the Multi-Purpose Vessel). According to the Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, the missions of the MPIs include:

• icebreaking in the Arctic in moderate ice conditions
• assisting with shipping and springtime flood control in the St. Lawrence waterway and Great Lakes regions
• conducting missions involving search and rescue, emergency response, and security and protection
• maintaining Canada’s marine navigation system, composed of approximately 17,000 aids to navigation

The U.S. Coast Guard is acquiring six Arctic Security Cutters that use the MPI design. It will be interesting to see if any of those vessels end up operating in the Great Lakes. (emphasis applied–Chuck)

These ships (pictured above) are larger and more powerful than USCGC Mackinaw, but are small enough to transit the St Lawrence lock system. Like many Canadian icebreakers, they also include a buoy tending capability.

Kongsberg proposal for Norway’s Standard class.

Norway has begun a program to replace “smaller patrol craft, minehunters, light corvettes, and other auxiliaries, spread out over twelve different classes” with two “Standard” classes for both their Navy and Coast Guard.  My guess is that five of the 18 “medium” size and five of the ten “offshore” vessels will go to the Norwegian Coast Guard which is a branch of the Norwegian Navy.

“The standardised vessels dedicated for Coastguard work will have certain modifications, but will also be capable of embarking the modular systems used by the Navy.”

We have two reports from Naval News, apparently news releases from two of the shipbuilders competing for the contract(s). The Ulstein report is much more detailed and is quoted above.

• Kongsberg Maritime Participates in Competition For New Standardised Vessels for Royal Norwegian Navy
• Ulstein unveils designs for new standardised vessels for Royal Norwegian Navy

Artist impressions of ULSTEIN’ standard-class designs proposal to the Royal Norwegian Navy. Ulstein image.

Artist impressions of ULSTEIN’ standard-class design proposal to the Royal Norwegian Navy. Ulstein image.

This project is interesting as a joint navy/coast guard project, as a modular systems project, and as a exploitation of what looks to be designs based on offshore industry support ships.

If you were reading this blog back in 2012, you might remember that a Ulstein design offered by Vigor was one of the contenders for the OPC contract.

Vigor’s Ulstein OPC proposal.