The first National Security Cutter being developed by Northrop Grumman [NOC] for the Coast Guard has successfully completed Builder’s Trials, a four- day round of sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico that tested the ship’s propulsion, electrical, C4ISR, damage control and combat systems, the company said last week.
Construction on the Bertholf (WMSL 750) began in 2004 and is scheduled to complete final trials this spring before delivery to the Coast Guard. The Builder’s Trials culminated in a four-hour full power trial, standardization trials, as well as a 57mm gun and close-in weapon systems test before returning to Northrop Grumman’s shipbuilding facility in Pascagoula, Miss., last Monday. The firing of the 57mm gun was the first time it has been fired by a United States ship, the Coast Guard said.
“Bertholf‘s Builder’s Trials validated what we have believed for sometime,” Richard Schenk, Northrop Grumman vice president for U.S. Coast Guard programs, said in a statement. “The team has designed and built a ship that has exceeded expectations with respect to performance and operability.”
The Bertholf is the first of eight National Security Cutters that will be delivered to the Coast Guard by Integrated Coast Guard Systems, which is the joint venture between Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Northrop Grumman that is helping the Coast Guard integrate its Deepwater modernization assets. Lockheed Martin [LMT] is responsible for the C4ISR systems on the cutters.
The National Security Cutter is a 418-foot vessel with a maximum speed of 28 knots.