An interesting article that provides a good summary of the confluence of increased demand and declining assets that is squeezing the Coast Guard.
“Securing American Maritime Boundaries”
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China’s Coast Guards
Information Dissemination has an article about the Coast Guard’s counterparts in China. Five agencies share the Coast Guard’s missions: China Maritime Surveillance (CMS) of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), Fisheries Law Enforcement Command (FLEC), Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) of the Ministry of Transport, the anti-smuggling force of the General Administration of Customs, and their “Coast Guard” (aka Maritime Police in Chinese). All seem to be expanding, particularly China Maritime Surveillance and the Maritime Safety Administration.
The article talks almost exclusively about their cutters, including new construction. Apparently they don’t have many aircraft. There is no comprehensive list of personnel. Individually each is smaller than the USCG, but it sounds like collectively, they may have more personnel than the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard Meets With Potential OPC Builders, But No Rush
Federal Times reports the Coast Guard is meeting with ship builders interested in participating in the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program, August 10-20. The plan is to build 25 ships to replace the entire existing fleet of WMECs (29 ships if I count right).
Federal Times quotes Carl McGill, surface systems chief for the Coast Guard and the OPC contracting officer, “After this round of talks is concluded, the next event for the OPC program will be an industry day, probably in November. A draft request for proposals is expected to be released “early next year,” McGill said, with a pre-solicitation conference to be held about a month later.
“Sometime next year three shipyards should receive Coast Guard contracts to prepare detailed OPC designs — an effort expected to take up to two years. A down-select to one shipyard is expected to be made in late 2014 or early 2015. The first OPCs are expected to be delivered in 2018 or 2019.”
And the oldest 210s will be how old then? 54 years old. Not to mention Acushnet and Alex Haley.
And when do we expect to see Arctic Patrol Cutters? And new Ice Breakers? Icebreaking tugs? Inland buoy tenders?
Are we behind the power curve? I know this is not the fault of the current administration, but we don’t seem to be making our case before Congress. Want to stimulate the economy. Ship building is a good way. We fought WWII in half the time it will take before we see the first OPC, and we did design and build a few ships during that time.
Think our MECs are having problems now, wait five years, no wait eight or nine.
And shouldn’t we really be building 33 to replace all the MECs and the short fall in 378 replacements.
We have to do better.
Operation Dragoon, the Invasion of Southern France, 15 Aug. 1944
The Naval History and Heritage Command reminded those who follow it, that, today is the anniversary of Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France. They featured USS Samuel Chase (APA-56), a Coast Guard manned attack transport. USS Samuel Chase also participated in the invasion of North Africa (8 Nov. 1942), the invasion of Sicily (10 July 1943), the invasion of Italy at Salerno (9 Sept. 1943), and the Normandy invasion (6 June 1944). She also managed to spend some time off Okinawa after the invasion while kamikazes were still a danger (24 July-10 Aug. 1945). She was also used for Operation “Magic Carpet” the return of American service men to US.
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Naval History & Heritage Command To read about USS Samuel Chase, which was involved in this landing, please click here:
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s4/samuel_chase.htm
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There were probably a number of other Coast Guard and Coast Guard manned ships involved in Operation Dragoon as well. One, the 327, USCGC Duane (WPG-33/WAGC-6/WHEC-33) (my old ship) served as flag ship of one of the six Naval Task Forces.
More on Operation Dragoon here.
Piracy, it’s just business
According to the BBC the British Government has blocked American backed UN sanctions against two kingpins of the Somali piracy organizations. The article goes on to describe how the EU forces on scene released pirates caught in the act, because it was simply to hard to prosecute.
I don’t know about you, but I’m finding this attitude troubling.
Hovercraft
It has been quite a while since the Coast Guard tried using hovercraft. It may be time to have another look. Here is an interesting video (sales pitch) about how other services are using hovercraft. Many of the users in the video are in areas where ice and snow covered surfaces are common. With the Arctic opening up, there might be a place for these craft there.
The Indian Coast Guard has had some experience with these craft and have decided to triple their fleet to 18 craft.
Not that we would want them everywhere, but perhaps for some environments, they would be just what we need.
USCGC Spencer (WPG/WAGC/WHEC-36) Legacy
Nice piece about the current Spencer (WMEC- 905) honoring a sailor from the previous Spencer (WPG/WAGC/WHEC-36).
The earlier Spencer was unique in Coast Guard history, in that she is believed to have sunk at least two U-boats.
For some excellent photos of all seven of the 327s, from construction through the end of World War II, the Coast Guard Historian has a nice collection of photos with commentary showing their changing configuration.
Chinese Claim the entire South China Sea as Sovereign Territory.
As noted earlier, there doesn’t seem to be universal agreement on what the “Law of the Sea” (UNCLOS) means. The Washington Post is reporting that Senior Col. Geng Yansheng, a Ministry of Defense spokesman, has claimed that China has “indisputable sovereignty” over the South China Sea but would continue to allow others to freely navigate the 1.3 million-square-mile waterway.
On July 23 Secretary Clinton crossed the Chinese by suggesting an multilateral approach to resolution of competing claims. Competing claims involve Japan, Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines. Claims to the Spratley Islands group seem to be particularly contentious. There is an outline of competing claims here. China has used force in the past, seizing the Paracel Islands from Vietnam in 1976. Dai Bingguo, China’s state councilor in charge of foreign policy, had told Secretary Clinton in May during a tense exchange on the region that China viewed its claims to the sea as a “core national interest.” In addition they seem to have thrown down the gauntlet to the US over exercises in the Yellow Sea.
To complicate matters, the Chinese have a new weapon system, and anti-ship ballistic missile, to enforce their claims, that makes the Navy’s traditional response to Chinese aggressiveness appear much more dangerous.
National Security Cutter as Navy Patrol Frigate
Navy Times’ “Scoop Deck” asks what the Navy will do “After the frigates are gone” and suggest that variants of the National Security Cutter (NSC) might be a better solution than the Littoral Combat Ship (LSC).
Back in March, Defense News also suggested that the NSC might be the Navy’s best option.
This has been an on going discussion for a long time, fueled no doubt by Northop Grumman’s desire to sell more ships. But the suggestion has been taken seriously. In July 2009, the Congressional Budget Office Study did a study that included an upgraded 20 NSCs as an option to 25 of the LCS.
That study suggested that these 20 NSCs be upgraded as follows:
“For approximately $260 million, the Navy could replace the Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) currently used on the national security cutter with the SeaRAM Mk-15 CIWS. Unlike the former system, which consists of a rapid-firing gun designed to engage subsonic antiship missiles at close ranges, the SeaRAM CIWS would incorporate a rolling airframe missile on the same physical space but provide the ship with the ability to engage supersonic antiship cruise missiles out to 5 nautical miles. The SeaRAM system includes its own sensor suite—a Ku band radar and forward-looking infrared imaging system— to detect, track, and destroy incoming missiles.
“An additional layer of antiship missile defense could be provided by installing the Mk-56 vertical launch system with Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSMs) along with an Mk-9 Tracker/Illuminator system to detect, track, and engage antiship missiles. The ESSM can engage supersonic antiship missiles at a range of nearly 30 nautical miles. Installing 20 sets of a 12-cell launching system (which would carry 24ESSMs), buying the missiles, and integrating the weapons with the ships would cost about $1.1billion.”
So these upgrades would cost $1.360B/20 ships or $68M/ship
With many more critics than supporters, there is a lot speculation that the Navy will not build anywhere near the 55 LCSs currently planned. The black-eye lean manning is getting in the Navy lately, and the fact that the LCSs are designed for lean manning with no apparent option for growing the crew, is adding to criticism of its limited weapons and poor endurance. The Coast Guard is looking smart for providing the NSCs and OPCs with both realistic crews and room for growth.
If the government wanted to open an option for the future, it might be smart to increase the CG buy of NSCs to 12, to make up some of the shortage of ship days that is certainly in our future and direct that the last 6 be made as a “B” class with a weapons fit including the systems sited above, a towed array sonar, and all necessary space and equipment for support of two MH-60Fs, with the marginal cost paid out of the Navy budget. The nation would have an additional capability and the Navy would have have a ready option in a mature design, that could take on the functions of the FFGs.
Offshore Patrol Cutter, Interested Ship Builders
The Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate (CG-9) has published a list, in pdf format, of the companies that have expressed an interest in the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) project.
They list nine shipbuilders: AUSTAL, Bath Iron Works, Bollinger, Marinette Marine, Nassco, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Todd Pacific Shipyards, and VT Halter Marine, Inc.
The complete list including contact information is available here.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 