Another interesting ship coming from Austal, the makers of the trimaran Littoral Combat Ship, Independence (sometimes referred to as the Klingon Battlecruiser). This is the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). The Army and Navy are planning to buy at least ten. I would not be surprised to see them used routinely with a LEDET on board for drug enforcement.
It’s always hard to figure out how much a ship costs, and compare prices, but I was a bit alarmed when I saw this report from the Navy Times concerning the FY2012 budget, “$615 million of the $1.4 billion set aside in the request for acquisitions will go to the fifth NSC.” I add this to the $89M for long lead time items in the previous budget, and I get $714M for NSC #5. Can this be right? Wasn’t the forth NSC $480M? The Navy’s latest contract for the admittedly smaller but high tech, LCSs came in at $440M each.
When we contracted for number four it was “fixed price with incentive” with an option for number five. Did they really give us a price of $480M for #4 and and an option for #5 of $714M? Or had we already paid for long lead time items on #4 as well. I’m so confused.
Columbia claims to have found their first fully submersible narco submarine. Looking at the pictures and the specs given, its apparent that this is a different sort of craft. The claimed maximum dive depth is only three meters (10′) and there is what appears to be a permanently fixed snorkel 5 meters (16.5′) in length, meaning, even when at maximum depth, the top of the snorkel will be above the surface. Unlike the true submarine found in Ecuador, there is no mention of an electric motor. It’s not really a true submersible, but it’s not a typical semi-submersible either. It seems this craft is intended for “SNOrkel Transit” so my shorthand description would be that it is a “Snot boat.”
I’d like to point out an excellent interview that forcefully makes many of the points the Coast Guard needs to be pushing to have an effective polar capability. It needs wider dissemination. RAdm. Garrett is apparently an excellent spokesman for the Coast Guard.
There are some points in the article that also deserve to be highlighted.
A icebreaker can do more than break ice. It can serve effectively as Coast Guard infrastructure in the Arctic–logistics base, air station, SAR station, MLE, ATON, etc.
USCGC Healy was built with money from the USN budget. (It could, perhaps should, happen again.)
The Canadians are building a mix of high-low ice capability ships, a large icebreaker and ice-strengthened patrol ships. (For a while the Coast Guard also had a high-low mix, Polar class on the high end and Glacier and Wind class as the low end.)
The Polar Star Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Uscgc_polar_star.jpgFor background:
Numbers of course, are not the whole story. The US fleet is, by tonnage, far in excess of any competitor. The relatively strong allied fleets of Japan and South Korea are not included. The US still far outspends most of the rest of the world and most of the top ten navies of the world are our allies.
Still the decline of the Russian (Soviet) Navy and the continued growth of the Chinese Navy are clear. China’s rapidly improving quality including ships comparable to Aegis destroyers is not.
Source: Combat Fleets of the World here.
“WASHINGTON — Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, congratulates Lt. Aaron Renschler after he received the National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Achievement Medal, Feb. 8, 2010. Renschler was recognized for his leadership while supporting Combined Taskforce 151’s anti-piracy mission, including thwarting five separate pirate attacks and the at-sea apprehension of 50 Somali pirates. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Anderson
“Over a five-month deployment as officer-in-charge of a law enforcement detachment aboard USS San Jacinto and USS Farragut, Renschler played a central role in the detention of 50 suspected pirates, the seizure of a large weapons and explosives cache, and the liberation five Yemeni hostages.”
But there is also this interesting little tidbit:
“Additionally, he was cited for his leadership while heading a task force assigned to identify, track, and board the most advanced narco-terrorist means of transport in the history of the war on drugs – the self-propelled fully submersible drug sub.”
INDIAN OCEAN – Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and Combined Task Force 151’s visit board search and seizure team, on board the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Farragut board a suspicious dhow March 31. USS Farragut is part of Combined Task Force 151, a multinational task force established to conduct anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Cassandra Thompson.
(Source: Coast Guard news release)
I’m not going to regurgitate the Commandant’s speech or try to explain it all, but I thought I would give a few impressions. I’m sure there will be some truly important things I will miss, sorry.
The speech transcript is available here. And if you want an expanded explanation of what the Commandant said in his speech, I would suggest that you go here, go down to the foot of the page (now also near the top on the right side) and download the pdf, “U. S. Coast Guard Commandant’s Direction, 2011.” It’s a slick 24 page explanation that expands on the themes of the speech.
This is the third in a series comparing two incidents from World War II, in which ships tried to force entry into a hostile harbor, in an effort to draw some lessons from them. Part one looked at the bloody, but ultimately successful British assault on the fortified port of St Nazaire. The second was the unsuccessful attempt by heavy units of the German Navy to reach Oslo, Norway, thwarted by an obsolete and undermanned fixed fortification. What went wrong? And what went right? What can we learn?
Legacy 25’ Defender Class RB-S. USCG photo by PA2 Andy Kendrick
The Acquisition Directorate has announced, “On February 4, 2011, the U.S. Coast Guard awarded two fixed price Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts to begin replacement of the current Response Boat-Small (RB-S) fleet, which is nearing the end of its ten-year service life.”
The two designs will compete for final selection of a winning design that is expected to lead to contracts for up to 500 boats totaling as much as $193.1M.
“The latest iteration of the RB-S will have an approximate length of 25 feet, be capable of at least 40 knots, a minimum range of 150-nautical miles and a crew of four. The new RB-S will also have a standardized communications and navigation suite as well as an increased emphasis on ergonomics and crew comfort.”
Fox Sports did a reading of the Declaration of Independence before the Superbowl, and the crew of the Cutter Tern was featured. You might want to check it out. Thanks to Rachel Polish for bring this to my attention (p.s., we miss you here).
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 