Can we talk ESBs?

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The Navy just received the final ship in the six-hull Expeditionary Sea Base program, transferring in the delivery ceremony of the 106,664-ton (not a misprint) USNS (future USS) Hector A. Cafferata Jr. (ESB 8) last week.

No other fleet in the world has anything that even comes close, not to mention having a half-dozen of them…

Expeditionary Sea Base USNS Hector A. Cafferata Jr. (ESB 8)

A peek into the hangar opening at the front of the huge topside aviation deck. You can store (at least) four CH-53s in there.

That metacentric height, tho…

While big deck commissioned (USS) ‘phibs like LHDs/LHAs, and LPDs get all the attention, the ESB, basically a converted Alaska-class oil tanker, has largely slid under the radar, and it should get more love.

Initially called the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) and the MLP Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB), over the past decade, five other huge sister ESBs have been delivered: USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5), USS John L. Canley (ESB 6), and USNS (future USS) Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7).

Commanded by a Navy O-6 with a permanently embarked 250-member military crew and accommodations for up to another 298 transient personnel, these gigantic NASSCO-built platforms run as big as an aircraft carrier and can rightfully be considered a large LPH with a four-spot flight deck for MV-22s/CH-53s, a mission deck, a hangar, an ordnance storage magazine, and underway replenishment facilities.

They are designed around four core capabilities: aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and command and control assets. The ship is perfect for missions such as counter-piracy, maritime security, airborne minesweeping, and humanitarian and disaster relief, all with an emphasis on rotor-wing aircraft.

I mean, look at this 52,000-square-foot flight deck. For reference, it is the third-largest in the Navy’s inventory, just behind LHA/LHDs and CVNs. The giant hangar is forward towards the bow, so no elevators are needed. But you can imagine that deck as a great base for UAVs.

The Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) sails in the Atlantic Ocean, Oct. 17, 2020. Photo by: Sgt. Megan Roses | VIRIN: 201017-M-JH926-303

Plus, underneath the flight deck, the ESBs have a 25,000-square-foot mission deck used for storing heavy equipment, vehicle staging, and small boats.

Yes, they are slow (just 15 knots, max), but the Navy has mitigated that low speed by forward-deploying these ships overseas (ESB 3 is in CENTCOM, ESB 4 is at FDNF Souda Bay, ESB 5 and ESB 6 are at FDNF Saipan, etc.).

However, they are criminally under-armed with just 12 .50 cal stations, but are supposed to be used in low-threat situations and, in theory, could always be escorted by a DDG or two when not.

They should probably at least get a proper weapon fit more akin to an LHA/CVN (two RAM launchers, two CIWS, two Sea Sparrow launchers, four Mk 38s/Mk 46s plus the sensors and fire control to use them as well as soft kills such as Nukla, SLQ-32B, etc.) for which they have the space to spare for sure but will add a bit of cost and require some more rates to keep running.

Hell, maybe they should get some VLS cells for quad-packed ESSMs (the San Antonio-class LPDs were designed for such a thing but not fitted with them), or strike-length TLAMs.

Now that could get very interesting.

Sometimes, you get to shoot something really special…

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While hanging out at an industry event in Idaho, we came across a fairly rare and very quiet German-made rimfire rifle and just had to shoot it.

Attending SilencerCo’s Summer Camp at the Day Mountain Ranch outside of Preston (oddly enough, the small town where Napoleon Dynamite was filmed), we had a chance to get some trigger time on some amazing platforms, most of them shooting out to extended ranges. Like starting at 200 yards and punching well out to 1,300.

Day Mountain Ranch
I mean, with these hills, you aren’t running many 15-yard flat ranges. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

One exception to that was a station that had some great little rimfire guns that attendees used offhand on spinner and groundhog plates at like 25 yards, squinting into the morning sun.

Volquartsen-enhanced Ruger 22/45, complete with an everlasting SilencerCo Sparrow can.
There was this great Volquartsen-enhanced Ruger 22/45, complete with an everlasting SilencerCo Sparrow can.
Sparrowed FN 502 MRD with a matching Steiner MPS and TLR-7A
Then there was this Sparrowed FN 502 MRD with a matching Steiner MPS and TLR-7A.

But the real gem was a Heckler Koch HK270…

What is the HK270?

Travel with us back to the late 1970s. Back to when HK was the global powerhouse when it came to 7.62 NATO battle rifles, with its Gewehr 3 (G3) being standard not only in the West German Bundeswehr but in more than 50 other militaries around the globe. The G3’s little brother, the 9mm but still roller-locked MP5, was almost as popular with the black balaclava gang worldwide.

So why not market a rimfire blow-back action sporting rifle with a G3-style turret “castle” style rear sight that could be used for training, small game hunting, and sporting purposes?

Boom. That gives you the HK270.

HK270
SilencerCo’s engineers kept the gun as original as possible, save for threading the barrel to accept a modular Switchback suppressor.

More in my column at Guns.com. 

Glamorous Goose

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Some 75 years ago this month, aboard Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco, September 1951.

How about a sharp original period Kodachrome of a beautiful Grumman (G-38) Goose amphibian JRF-5G, USCG Hull No. 4792 (MSN B-87, Navy BuNo 84792).

Photo by William T. Larkins, via WikiCommons

Powered by Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-6 radials, the USCG contracted for 24 JRF-5Gs beginning in early 1941, following up on 10 JRF-2/3s purchased in the late 1930s. The Navy also purchased 160 of the type and transferred at least three JRF-5Gs in 1950 that were surplus to its needs, including the above hull.

As noted by the CG Aviation History Assoc:

Prior to World War II these aircraft carried out search and rescue as well as aerial mapping flights and participated in the Coast Guard’s contribution to the enforcement of the Neutrality Patrol. During the war, the JRFs conducted search and rescue operations, transported supplies and personnel, and were utilized for ASW operations. Depth Charges or Bombs were carried externally under the wing.

Survivors of a torpedoed ship hailing a U.S. Coast Guard JRF amphibian. Artwork by Hunter Wood NARA 026-g-021-061-001

Most of the remaining Coast Guard’s JRF-2/3s were disposed of shortly after the end of World War II, while many of the JRF-5Gs remained in service with the Coast Guard until 1954 when they were replaced by another Grumman amphibian, the HU-16 Albatross.

BuNo 84792 was Withdrawn From Use on 21 September 1955. A former Navy plane, others in her batch went to France to fly with Escadrille 8S in Indochina.

But that is a post for later in the week.

Clydebank Beauty

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Some 110 years ago this month, a great view of the conning tower and forward turrets, complete with newly-installed 15″/42 Mark I guns, of the future Renown-class battlecruiser HMS Repulse, seen whilst fitting out at John Brown & Co’s Clydebank yard, Scotland.

August 1916 National Records of Scotland, UCS1-118-443-295

The 10th RN ship to carry the name, Repulse commissioned 18 August 1916, just over two months too late for Jutland. The month prior, she hit 31.73 knots on her speed trials, making her the world’s second fastest capital ship upon completion, only bested by her sister Renown, which hit 32.58.

However, the two sisters, Renown and Repulse, spent so much time in modification and maintenance over their careers that the wags in the fleet collectively knew them as HMS Refit and HMS Repair.

This included, for Repulse, 27 months (December 1918 – March 1921) at Portsmouth Dockyard to install torpedo bulges and improved armor to fix the shortcomings exposed in British battlecruisers at Jutland, and a 37-month (April 1933 – May 1936) modernization on the eve of WWII. Add to that numerous minor maintenance and refit periods, and she spent nearly a fourth of her 25-year career in the yard.

Portsmouth Dockyard blueprint for Renown-class battlecruiser HMS Repulse dated 1936.

Repulse nonetheless earned three battle honors (Norway 1940, Atlantic 1940, and Bismarck Action 1941) before she gave her last full measure, escorting the HMS Prince of Wales on 10 December 1941

File under ‘No Suprise’ : Navy Shore Based Harpoon System Successful

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It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, as Harpoon entered service in 1977– yes, almost 50 years ago– but the new Harpoon Coastal Defense System (HCDS) was validated at its Developmental Test (DT-1) at Point Mugu Sea Range (PMSR) in July 2026, “validating the system’s ability to engage and neutralize maritime threats.”

Boeing Photo via DVIDS 260721-O-HP119-5272

During the event, the Harpoon missile successfully launched from land and engaged the target vessel in near-shore/littoral waters.

It is planned to ship these to Taiwan, which has a $2.3B program to field 100 HCDS launchers and 400 missiles– a pretty good way to keep the local littoral their local littoral.

It should also be noted that the background concept has been extensively validated over the years, with the Royal Danish Navy fielding two 8-missile batteries of Scania 113M/320 truck-mounted quad-packed Harpoons from 1988 to 2003.

The Danish Harpoon setup. Marinens Biblioteks digitale arkiv MAB-16884

Plus, Ukraine received 20 Harpoons in 2022 from donations by Denmark, the Netherlands, the U.S., UK, and Spain for use in ground-based launchers, though little has been seen of them. Like, literally. The Ukrainians conceal them inside cargo containers to avoid the drone ka-boom.

The Danes also loved to heavily camouflage their Harpoons, so you can be sure the Taiwanese will be sure to do the same.

But, why?

So why bother with a land-based trailerable Harpoon when the Marines already have the smaller Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems (NMESIS) ground-based system which carries two Kongsberg Naval Strike Missiles?

A Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System launcher deploys into position aboard Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Hawaii, Aug. 16, 2021.  (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Maj. Nick Mannweiler, released)

Well, throw weight for one. While the 13-foot/800-pound NSM is a newer and more streamlined missile, it only has a 264-pound warhead, while the 15-foot/1,500-pound Harpoon totes 500 pounds of boom and delivers it with more kinetic energy by virtue of mass and speed.

Yes, NSM has a longer published range of 100nm while the RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II has a published range of 75nm, but keep in mind those are public figures.

Of course, the 8-ton NMESIS with its two missiles is CH-53E/K (hoist) or C-130 (internal) aircraft compatible and built to operate in much more austere environments, ready to pop off an LCU, LSM, or LCAC onto a beach while the HCDS, based on the same HEMTT trailer as the Army’s THAAD, is more of a C-17/industrial-grade roadway kinda thing, as its weight is likely closer to 35 tons.

While HCDS is set to deliver to Taiwan to complement indigenous HF-2 and HF-3 anti-ship launchers, it might not be a bad idea for the USN to invest in a few batteries of these, for a just-in-case type of scenario. Put them in the reserves with two Marine Reserve Artillery Battalions, one staged on the East Coast, the other on the West.

Speaking of Marines and Harpoons, since you came this far, how about these great very recent shots of VMFA-232 “Red Devils” F-18C/Ds out of MCAS Iwakuni conducting an anti-ship exercise, complete with two AGM-84s under the wings along with a pair each of Sidewinders and AMRAAMS for emergency use.

Nice to see the classics.

A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet aircraft assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, lands on Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan, during a harpoon exercise, Aug. 19, 2026. VMFA-232 stands ready to integrate and seize the strategic advantage to ensure stability in the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Alejandra Vega)

A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, flies off the coast of Japan, Aug, 19, 2026. U.S. Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 conduct aerial refueling operations in support of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, demonstrating the Marine Corps’ ability to sustain and generate combat airpower. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David Getz)

Army buys a *lot* of force-on-force practice rounds

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The British firm of UTM just got a mega contract award from the Army for marker rounds to be used in what it calls Close Combat Mission Capability Kits, which convert standard M4s and M249s, etc., to cycle them, a conversion that is easily reversible and doesn’t (overly) damage said small arms.

These things…

The company sells Man-Marker Rounds (MMR/RVR) in red, blue, yellow, or green; Non-Marking & Target Bullet Rounds (NMR/TBR) plastic-backer training rounds, and very loud Battlefield Blanks (LBBR)s without a projectile, all of which cost around 75 cents a pop on large Mil/LE contracts, and this one is a big contract, so that price is likely lower.

The Contract, emphasis mine:

UTM Ltd., Bury St. Edmunds, United Kingdom, was awarded a $257,402,691 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of 5.56mm M1042 loose and M1071 linked marking ammunition cartridges for use in the Close Combat Mission Capability Kit. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 24, 2031. Army Contracting Command, Newark, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-26-D-A102).

Of note, the ATF recently backpedaled on a rule that banned the import of UTM rounds for consumer use, which was proffered by the Biden administration. It is possible the size of the contract could be a bit of a salve to make the company whole on those lost sales.

The Germans still really love Dragons Teeth

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3 April 1945.

Original Caption: “Dragon teeth on the Siegfried Line presented an obstacle to tanks of U. S. Seventh Army in the Wissembourg area, France. Note teeth extend to mountains which raise a natural barrier.”

Signal Corps Photo 111-SC-203387 Photographer: Sgt. Robert G. Heller.

Fast forward some 80 years, and the line has moved well East but still looks much the same, only a bit less angular and more…NATO.

Well versed in MG

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Some 110 years ago this month.

Imperial Russian Army pilots and observers training in Kiev, Ukraine, August 1916, with American-made Colt 1895 pattern “potato digger” machine guns, likely made by Marlin-Rockwell.

Contrary to the common trope of being underarmed, the Tsar’s purchasing agents were fond of all things machine gun, with Cossack cavalry carrying Madsen guns in Manchuria in 1904 and the Tula Arsenal putting the Russian version of the water-cooled light Vickers (Maxim) in mass production by 1910– a model that is still in active service today around the world.

As best recalled from “Quiet Flows the Don” by Mikhail Sholokhov, when a young Cossack came to the unit’s attention in 1920:

“I’d like to ask to be transferred to the machine gun team.”

“Are you familiar with a machine gun?”

“I know the systems of Shosha, Bertier, Madsen, Maxim, Gochkis, Bergman, Vickers, Lewis, and Schwarzloze.”

First Crabs, now 85 years in the rearview

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Some 85 years ago this week, on 22 August 1941, at the Navy Gun Factory (now the Washington Navy Yard), Mine Recovery School Class No. 1 graduated, minting 10 officers (three of them Coasties), five chiefs, and eight ratings in the art of Navy EOD.

Note the distinctive broad eagle cloth cap insignias on the three USCG officers in the front row, standing out from the smaller eagle devices on the USN officers

These men, who all certainly went on to risk life and limb around moody, explosive-filled devices so that others may keep theirs, were the Navy’s first “Crabs.”

Over 340 American EOD techs have lost their lives since 1942.

The first U.S. casualty in mine disposal was Navy Ensign John M. Howard (who graduated in Class No. 2) when the washed-up German TMA-1 magnetic influence mine he was attempting to defuse on 11 June 1942 exploded on Corton sands at Garton, near Lowestoft in England.

Today, the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal community numbers roughly 2,290 active and about 140 reserve personnel, but has been very well seasoned, especially during the Sandbox years, in counter-IED and UXO disposal, while keeping their gratefully lesser-used skills of underwater de-mining and WMD disposal at more of an academic level.

Plus, the Crabs of today benefit from investments in unmanned underwater vehicles, advanced sensors, and a “fusion of machine learning and artificial intelligence to extend the reach and lethality of operators.”

Their unofficial motto is a very understandable, “Initial success or total failure.”

The Coast Guard is putting its ersatz AOE to good use already

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We covered the story of the civilian-mariner-operated Homeland Security Cutter Ocean (the leased M/V Connor Bordelon) back in June.

A 257-foot/3,285 LT “Ultralight subsea intervention vessel” with a 60-ton AHC crane and a 55-foot helicopter platform, Ocean has the capacity to carry nearly 70,000 gallons of potable water, produce another 3,100 a day, and carry 122,000 gallons of transferable diesel. She also has a massive open deck that can carry a diverse mixture of CEUs, which can carry additional supplies.

Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean moored at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, June 26, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Reese Hindmarsh)

Well, HSC Ocean is online and recently was used to conduct a replenishment at sea with the 270-foot diesel-powered Bear-class USCGC Forward (WMEC 911) in the Caribbean Sea, a historic first for the service.

Note the CEUs on HSC-Ocean’s deck

Nice to see a MK75 76mm OTO still in U.S. service

Of course, it was stationary in a near-zero sea state, but it was still an all-USCG RAS between two decent-sized non-USN/MSC vessels, which is saying something about how expeditionary warfare could look in the coming years in the West Pac or CENTCOM.

As noted by USCG Atlantic Area:

The HSC-Ocean initiative rapidly deploys leased commercial support vessel capabilities to deliver supplies, equipment, and personnel directly to our cutters underway. By integrating this commercial logistics technology, we keep our high-demand assets on station longer—enhancing our ability to save lives, strengthen border security, and ensure our crews are always ready to respond to maritime crises in the Caribbean and Western Hemisphere.

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