I’m afraid I’m a bit late with this, but if you have not seen or heard Admiral Papp’s State of the Coast Guard Speech you can read it here.
Actually it is a good speech, and it cites several indicators that the Acquisitions Directorate has gotten its act together. Lots of other issues addressed as well.
The Administrations FY2015 Budget Request for DHS is out.
You can find it here:
http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/FY15-BIB.pdf
The Coast Guard’s portion (12 pages) begins on page 75 of the document which for me came up as page 82 of the pdf. I am still trying to digest it.
We have already talked about China’s difficulties with her neighbors Japan and the Philippines. Now we have a report of a confrontation with Indonesia. Apparently Indonesia had chosen to keep this quiet, but the Chinese have chosen to brag about it.
The Indonesian vessel involved was reportedly a Todak class, which is a German Lurssen “PB-57” design, a bit larger than the FRC at 447 tons fl, 58.1 meters long and 7.6 meters of beam, armed with a Bofors 57mm (like that on the NSC), a 40mm and two 20mm. Clearly if it had come to a fight, the Indonesian vessel would have enjoyed an advantage, at least until Chinese reinforcements arrived.
China is showing a complete disregard for the provisions of the UNCLOS treaty to which they are a party.
Making an enemy of Indonesia is a particularly bad idea for China, in that Indonesia potentially controls all the major straits through which the vast majority of Chinese trade must pass and all the alternatives are also in the hands of nations China seems intent on alienating.
Navy Recognition is showing a photo of a model of a new corvette being built by Bollinger’s partner Damen for the Vietnamese Navy. The ships is the right size, 98 meters long and 14 meters of beam (321 ft x 46 ft).
We already discussed the fact that Damen had built an OPC sized ship for the Vietnamese counterpart of the USCG.
The photo even looks a little like the ships in this earlier illustration from Bollinger. The reported dimensions of the new Vietnamese vessel also correspond to the dimensions given for Damen’s 2600 ton OPV.
An interesting feature is how well armed this Vietnamese Corvette will apparently be. This bodes well for potential upgrades to the OPC. Quoting Navy Recognition:
the new SIGMA 9814 class will be fitted with:
8x MBDA Exocet MM40 Block 3
12x MBDA MICA VL surface-to-air missiles (in VLS)
1x Oto Melara 76mm main gun
2x Oto Melara MARLIN-WS 30mm gun mounts
The corvette will acomodate one anti-submarine helicopters Ka-28. The corvettes are set to receive the latest generation of electronics and sensors from Thales including TACTICOS combat management system,SMART-S Mk 2 radar and STING EO Mk 2 electro-optical fire control system.
Vice Adm. Paul Zukunft. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
The Coast Guard Compass has just announced that,
“Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced President Obama’s intent to nominate Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, currently Pacific Area commander, to be the next commandant of the United States Coast Guard in an all hands email to DHS personnel.”
You can see the full announcement here.
Here is his official bio:
Vice Admiral Zukunft previously served as the Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship. His other Headquarters flag assignments include the Director of Response Policy and the Assistant Commandant for Capability.
In 2010, Vice Admiral Zukunft served as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon Spill of National Significance where he directed more than 47,000 responders, 6,500 vessels and 120 aircraft during the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
Vice Admiral Zukunft was promoted to flag rank in 2006 and his previous flag assignments include Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District and Director, Joint Interagency Task Force West.
His senior staff assignments included Chief of Operations, Coast Guard Pacific Area and Chief of Operations Oversight, Coast Guard Atlantic Area where he directly supervised all major cutter oin the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. He also served as Chief of Staff, at the Fourteenth Coast Guard Districin Honolulu.
Vice Admiral Zukunft has commanded six units and served extensively in the cutter fleet where he commanded the cutters CAPE UPRIGHT, HARRIET LANE, and RUSH.
Vice Admiral Zukunft graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1977 with a Bachelor of Scdegree in Government; from Webster University in 1988 with a Master of Arts degree in Managemand from the U.S. Naval War College in 1997 with a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. He is a graduate of the Asia Pacific Center for Strategic Studies Executive Seminar and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government National Preparedness Leadership Initiative Course.
Vice Admiral Zukunft is a native of North Branford, Connecticut. He wears the permanent Cutterman pin and is a certified NIMS ICS Type I Area Commander. His personal awards include the Department of Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, three Legions of Merit and five Meritorious Service medals with “O” device among others.
Coast Guard photograph, PHC Ken Mather, USCGC Sherman (WHEC-720) in her original configuration with a 5″/38 and dual hedgehogs, April 1969.
This is hardly a current topic, but it is one I have seen discussed several time, most recently in comments on a post about the new Canadian Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS), e.g. why the Coast Guard used the 76mm Mk75 gun on the 378 FRAMs rather than the 5″/54 Mk45.
It is true that, although about four tons heavier, the early model 5″/54 Mk45 mounts were a drop in replacement for the 5″/38 mounts we had on the 378s. It would have appeared an easy choice, but in order to accommodate the additional weight of the Harpoons and CIWS, perhaps the Coast Guard had no choice but to go with a lighter gun. That gun (and its associated firecontrol system) was certainly seen as a significant improvement over what we had had in essentially all respects including reduced manning and maintenance.
If we look at the weights as built that were removed:
one 5″/38 (20.5 tons) and two hedgehogs (14.4 tons), totalling approximately 35 tons
and compare that to some of the weights added
one 76 mm Mk75 gun (8.2 tons), two Mk141 quad harpoon launchers (11.8 tons total), eight Harpoon (6 tons), and a Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS (6.8 tons). Total approximately 32.8 tons. Plus more weight for the addition of the hangar. Essentially the difference was a wash.
If instead, we had used the 5″/54 Mk45 mod 0 (24.5 tons) in addition to the harpoons and CIWS, the total weight would have been 16.3 tons higher or 49.1 tons.
There are other weights that might be added in calculating the total weight devoted to armaments, but obviously I don’t think this was an excessive amount, there are too many examples of smaller ships with far more weapons. I previously noted, (“OPC-Design for Wartime, Build for Peacetime”) that as built the little 255s had 140 to 150 tons of weapons.
Even so, an additional 16.3 tons topside (even if that is only about 0.5% of the full load displacement) might have been too much for the 378s. I don’t know. Perhaps a former 378 engineer or DCA could enlighten the discussion.
Photo: Navy photo, USCGC Mellon, with 76mm, Harpoon, and Phalanx CIWS
The Maritime Professional is carrying an announcement from the
“The Coast Guard Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the education and welfare of Coast Guard members and their families, announced today it has established the Douglas Munro Scholarship Fund. Named for the only Coast Guard member to be awarded the Medal of Honor, the new scholarship will help children of Coast Guard members achieve their goals of a college education.”
Check out the Maritime Professional post for details including a limited edition challenge coin offer.
MarineLog is reporting a new contract has been awarded for Canada’s Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS).
FEBRUARY 21, 2014 — OSI Maritime Systems Ltd. (OSI), Burnaby, BC, has been selected by Lockheed Martin Canada to support the design activity of the bridge and navigation capabilities for the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) new class of Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS).
But mostly I wanted to share the illustration. To review, this is a Canadian Navy project, not Coast Guard. It is based on the Norwegian Coat Guard’s Swalbard icebreaker but the design is smaller and simplified somewhat. They plan to build “six to eight” and they will be used both in the Arctic and for more conventional patrol duties.
What we see is a relatively large OPV/light icebreaker, with what appears to be excellent facilities for boats and a single helicopter up fairly large size with facilities to handle at least a small number of containers. Compared to the USCG’s Offshore Patrol Cutters they will probably be about twice the size, oriented much more toward the Arctic, their capability as a conventional patrol vessel is likely to be compromised by low max speed, the icebreaker hull shape, and an almost total lack of weapons.
This is a direct quote in full of a Coast Guard News Release. I don’t normally do that, but thought there might be enough interest::
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Coast Guard Barque Eagle has finalized its training schedule for 2014. During the year, Eagle will sail to the Caribbean, along the East Coast, to Canada, and throughout New England.
In late March, Eagle will sail to North Carolina with the Coast Guard and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Officer Candidates. The voyage will include a port call in Morehead City, N.C.
The Eagle will return to New London in early April and will depart for the annual summer deployment in May to train Coast Guard Academy cadets. While in New London in April, the Eagle plans to moor downtown at City Pier and open for local tours on a daily basis.
Following cadet final examinations, Eagle will set sail in early May and is scheduled to travel to the following ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico; Oranjestad, Aruba; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami; Sydney, Canada; St. Johns, Canada; New York City, N.Y.; Bourne, Mass.; and Rockland, Maine. Eagle will return to New London City Pier in early August. During these voyages, Eagle will train four different groups of approximately 150 cadets each.
In late August, Eagle will depart with the fall Coast Guard and NOAA Officer Candidate classes, traveling to Yorktown, Va. and then to Baltimore. While in Baltimore, Eagle will take part in the celebration of the 200 year anniversary of Francis Scott Key’s penning of the Star Spangled Banner.
Following the celebration, Eagle will transit to the Coast Guard Yard facility in Baltimore and commence work on its upcoming Service Life Extension Project. Eagle will remain at the Yard facility until the spring of 2015, when the Barque will travel to New London to commence the 2015 training program.
Specific port call dates are:
Morehead City, N.C. March 27-30
San Juan, Puerto Rico May 21-24
Oranjestad, Aruba May 28-31
Cozumel, Mexico June 7-10
Miami, Fla. June 14-17
Sydney, Canada June 28-July 1
St. Johns, Canada July 4-7
New York City, N.Y. July 18-21
Bourne, Mass. July 24-28
Rockland, Maine Aug. 1-4
Yorktown, Va. Sept. 4-6
Baltimore, Md. Sept. 11-15
At 295 feet in length, the Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service.
Constructed in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German Navy, the Eagle was taken by the United States as a war reparation following World War II.
With more than 23,500 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging, the Eagle has served as a classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering an at-sea leadership and professional development experience.
A permanent crew of seven officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and guide the trainees through an underway and in-port training schedule, dedicated to learning the skills of navigation, damage control, watchstanding, engineering and deck seamanship.
To follow the adventure onboard Eagle, visit the ship’s Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/CoastGuardCutterEagle.
While inport in February and March, the Eagle will be available for tours at the Ft. Trumbull pier most days from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. For more information, call 860-439-1562,
I have been made aware that the earlier post on this topic might lead to some confusion. Lets look at it in more detail. This is what the bill actually says about this,
“SEC. 215. MULTIYEAR PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY FOR OFFSHORE PATROL CUTTERS.
” In fiscal year 2015 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may enter into, in accordance with section 2306b of title 10, United States Code, multiyear contracts for the procurement of Offshore Patrol Cutters and associated equipment.”
First, it should be apparent that this applies only to the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC). This will not help with the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) program.
Second it refers specifically to section 2306b of title 10, the section governing muti-year procurements (MYP), which brings with it some specific requirements, one of which is that to be eligible for consideration for a multi-year procurement, the program must be “stable.” In the case of shipbuilding, this usually means that the first ship is at least complete. That will probably be in 2020, by which time, at least the first three ships should have already been contracted.
There is a form of contracting that would provide many of the advantages of multi-year procurement (MYP) that can include these first few ships, this is Block Buy Contracting (BBC) as was used at the start of the Navy’s current submarine program, but that was not what was authorized.
Clearly the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee wants to allow the Coast Guard to exploit potentially more efficient forms of contracting, but the potential of multi-year procurement of OPCs is still years away. If they want to realize savings earlier, they will need to authorize Block Buy Contracting for the Offshore Patrol Cutters and/or Multi-Year Procurement for the Fast Response Cutters.
There is another issue here also. That is the disagreement between the Department and Administration (in the form of OMB) on one side and the Coast Guard and some members of Congress on the other about what elements of the project must be funded before it is considered fully funded and a contract can be awarded. This is a funding approach question. and it is actually not directly connected to the contracting mechanism. Authorizing MYP does not resolve this disagreement. The Department and Administration’s apparent reticence may be symptomatic of a desire to delay committing, which would work against the long term commitment required for a multi-year procurement, but it should be obvious to anyone that while the final number of OPCs may be open for debate, the Coast Guard does need at least the eleven that are currently planned to be included (one contracted and ten as options) in the initial construction contract.
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