The Coast Guard’s trio of National Security Cutters (NSC) are proving to be effective replacements for the service’s aging high-endurance cutters in the process of being decommissioned, a compelling case for why the acquisition programs for the NSC and the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), which will replace the fleet of medium endurance cutters, must continue, the head of the Coast Guard said yesterday.
Speaking at his second State of the Coast Guard address, Adm. Bob Papp said that his “most pressing concern” and where the “greatest risk” is, is on the high seas, between the overseas ports and domestic ports.
“Patrolling the high seas requires multi-mission cutters and maritime patrol aircraft capable of sustained offshore operations,” Papp said. He repeated the concerns of his immediate predecessors that the existing deepwater cutters in the service’s fleet are old, in many cases more than 40 years old, and costly to maintain.
“This is why I’m so pleased to see the National Security Cutter is already proving a more than worthy replacement for our obsolete cutters,” Papp said. “This is also why we must sustain the momentum on our NSC and OPC acquisition programs.”
In addition to the three NSCs that have been delivered, two more are under contract with shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] and funding for the sixth is being requested in the FY ’13 budget. However, the Coast Guard’s mission need is for eight NSCs eventually and the recent budget request zeroes the program after the sixth cutter (Defense Daily, Feb. 16).
Papp didn’t mention the elimination yesterday but previously has said that eight NSCs are the minimum that the service needs. The Coast Guard is readying plans to award design contracts for the OPC.
“We will not allow our service to become a hollow operational force,” Papp said. “We will not allow our mission support capacity to be reduced to the point where we cannot maintain acceptable levels of readiness. What we will do is we will work with the department and the administration and the Congress to determine budget priorities, and those activities that we may have to reduce in the short-term so that we can do all that the nation expects of us in the long-term.”
In addition to having to recapitalize the fleet, the Coast Guard is facing new demands for its deepwater fleet, in particular expanding operations in the Arctic Ocean due to melting ice that is opening that region to new commercial ventures, including exploratory oil drilling that is expected to begin this summer in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.
The Coast Guard currently has no shore-based infrastructure in Northern Alaska but this summer plans to send what Papp calls is a “versatile infrastructure” into the Arctic, which will be the first NSC, the Bertholf.
“Bertholf has worldwide communications and state of the art command and control systems, actually better than most of our shore stations,” Papp said. “She also brings the added advantage of being able to launch and recover helicopters and small boats. Bertholf will be supplemented by a couple of our ice-capable, sea going buoy tenders.”
Papp said the Coast Guard’s cutters, aircraft and crews will be used on a “seasonal basis” in the Arctic “while we continue to define our requirements for permanent Arctic infrastructure.” However, he noted, the “imperative for expanded Coast Guard capabilities in the arctic is now.”
Lockheed Martin [LMT] provides the C4ISR systems for the NSCs.
The overall proposed budget for the Coast Guard in FY ’13 includes a reduction of 1,000 personnel, driven by the high endurance cutter decommissioning and belt tightening, which Papp said helps make room for new assets. Given the priority being put on reducing the national budget deficit, the “current track line” is for the Coast Guard to likely “get smaller,” he said.
“Now we’ll do this, but we’ll do it in a deliberate way that ensures we deliver the level of Coast Guard services our nation needs, tightening and targeting reductions in certain areas while investing in key initiatives to rebuild our service,” Papp said.