The Cutterman Association website has been recently renovated and it seems to be more active than it has been in the past. I’d like to call your attention to one post in particular. The Commandant has asked for questions and the Cuttermen Association is collecting any that might be cutterman related.
The Coast Guard’s Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9) is reporting that
The Coast Guard awarded a $31 million contract to Lockheed Martin Aug. 21, 2014, to purchase equipment to upgrade the electronic systems known as C4ISR – or Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance – on three National Security Cutters and at the NSC C4ISR training facility.
This is part of a larger Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Project.
“The C4ISR upgrade focuses on improving “interoperability,” or the ability of Coast Guard operating units to share information and coordinate operations with each other, with shore-based command centers and with other government agencies and allies. Other components will allow cutters (and aircraft?–Chuck) to send and receive tactical information including sensor, navigational and planning data to other U.S. military units as well as tactical sharing with international assets.”
“Features
•For NSCs, networked communications, radio direction finding and other capabilities to integrate with Navy battle groups and the broader U.S. government intelligence community
•For NSCs, HC-144As and HC-130Js, an advanced C4ISR suite that includes a common baseline across assets and transitions to an open architecture system of Coast Guard-controlled components with government software data rights
•The OPC’s C4ISR suite will be derived from the baseline used for NSC and other new platforms
•For in-service cutters, installation of commercial satellite communications and AIS
•For 378-foot and 270-foot cutters, Seawatch C2 system”
All well and good, but does it include Link 16? If so why not say so? If not why not? It seems to be very common and affordable. It is installed on boats smaller than the Webber class and on a wide range of aircraft including helicopters so it is certainly doable.
I got a request to pass along a message that a TV production company is seeking individuals interested in participating in a new reality show.
It appears to be legit, and, if it comes to fruition, it would not hurt to have a Coastie involved.
Are you looking for an action-packed sea adventure? Raw TV, the makers of Discovery’s hit series Gold Rush, is looking for experts to be the on-screen stars of a brand new show.
Have you got what it takes to survive some of the world’s deadliest seas? Could you tough it out on a remote desert island?
We are looking for people from a range of backgrounds such as fishing, sailing, military, security, survival & any other related fields. If you’re ready for an exciting new mission, get in touch: Email: sea@raw.co.uk
Sa’ar 62 OPV
Janes is reporting the Azerbaijan Coast Guard is procuring twelve new Israeli designed vessels to be built in Azerbaijan. These include six 62 meter OPVs (203 foot, the Greek ships of this class are about 450 tons full load) based on the Sa’ar 4.5 missile corvette and six 31.2 meter (102 foot, 95 ton) Shaldag patrol vessels.
SHALDAG Fast Patrol Craft (earlier, slightly smaller version)
Azerbaijan is one of five countries bordering the land locked (and reportedly oil rich) Caspian Sea. The others are Russia to the North, Iran to the South, and Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan on the other side of the Caspian. Russia has several missile corvettes and Iran has both corvettes and small submarines in the Caspian.
Azerbaijan’s total EEZ and total internal area is only 86,600 sq. km. The comparable figure for the US is over 250 times larger.
I’m afraid this may be another area where, in the not too distant future, Americans will get a geography lesson via troubling news reports.
gCaptain is reporting that two Ukrainian Coast Guard Cutters have been attacked by pro-Russian rebels.
The US Naval Institute Blog has a nice post about the Coast Guard’s difficulties balancing military and non-military roles. You might want to take a look.
The Naval Institute News Service has published the Congressional Research Services Ronald O’Rourke’s latest views on the status of cutter recapitalization. http://news.usni.org/2014/08/26/document-coast-guard-cutter-report-congress-2
CNN reports USCGC Monomoy fired one round at an Iranian dhow after it appeared to be preparing to fire on the cutter’s small boat.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/26/world/u-s-coast-guard-iran-incident/index.html
I will not be able to work on the blog much for the next couple of weeks. Please continue the conversation. I will try to look in occasionally and will be back full time in September.
The Israelis are marketing a anti-swimmer sensor system that claims increased range, believed necessary because increased speed of swimmer delivery systems shortens reaction time.
“The AquaShield ER offers unprecedented detection ranges against all marine threats. The AquaShield ER passed rigorous sea trials achieving detection ranges of up to 3.5 kilometer for Swimmer Delivery Vehicle targets, 1.8 kilometers for Open Circuit Divers and 1.2 kilometers for divers using closed-circuit apparatus.”
Perhaps I am reading to much into this, but this capability may have played a part in intercepting five Hamas commandos who swam ashore in Israel recently as reported here.
I have been out of the loop for a long time, but I suspect the Coast Guard is still not integrated into a multiservice network capable of reacting to a terrorist incursion the way the Israelis reported did.
The Tammuz missile referred to in the report is in the same class as the Hellfire, but with a much longer range (25 km, that is more range than a WWII light cruiser). It has been previously referred to as the Spike NLOS (Non-line of Sight). Since they referred to this being mounted on an OPV rather than a corvette or missile boat, I suspect they are talking about it having been mounted on something relatively small, about the size of an 87 footer.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 