The Coast Guard is seeking $500 million in its FY ’18 budget request to buy its first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), the service’s top acquisition priority, the biggest chunk in its planned acquisition spending for next year.
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Budget-in-Brief overview of its FY ’18 request to Congress on Tuesday says the funding for the OPC will allow for construction of the first ship to begin, with delivery scheduled in 2021, as well as long-lead material funding for the second vessel. The OPC is being designed by Eastern Shipbuilding, which is expected to receive long-lead production material later this year and is under contract for the first nine vessels that will replace the Coast Guard’s ageing fleet of medium-endurance cutters.
Current plans call for the Coast Guard to eventually purchase 25 OPCs.
The request doesn’t contain any funds to construct a 10th National Security Cutter (NSC), which until now has largely dominated the Coast Guard’s acquisition budget. The service’s program of record is for eight NSCs, which are replacing 12 Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters.
However, Congress last year provided funding for a ninth NSC and in the recent FY ’17 omnibus appropriations act, Congress provided long-lead material funding for a 10th NSC. In both instances, it was Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) who has successfully inserted the funds despite House Appropriators backing the Obama administration’s request to end the program at eight ships.
Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII], the prime contractor for the NSC, builds the vessels in Mississippi. The proposal includes $54 million for post-deliver actions on NSC hulls six through eight.
The Coast Guard request also includes $240 million to buy four Fast Response Cutters (FRC), which are replacing the Island-class patrol boats. The request covers hulls 45 through 48 of a planned buy of 58 boats.
Congress appropriated funding for six FRCs in FY ’17 and hasn’t been shy about adding to the FRC requests in the past. Congress funded six FRCs in both FY ’16 and FY ’17.
Bollinger Shipyards builds the FRCs.
Overall, the Coast Guard’s acquisition request is $1.2 billion, more than $700 million less than in FY ’17. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft argues that his service needs an annual baseline of $2 billion to recapitalize its surface and air assets in a timely and cost-effective manner.
The Trump administration is also seeking $19 million toward the Coast Guard’s ongoing efforts to begin acquiring new heavy polar icebreakers. The funding will allow the program to proceed to award of a contract for detail design and construction in 2019.
The overall Coast Guard budget request is for $8.8 billion in discretionary spending.