Category Archives: homeland security

American USCG Wolves?

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The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) sails alongside the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Northland (WMEC 904) and the Royal Canadian Navy offshore patrol vessels HMCS Margaret Brooke (AOPV 431) and HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430) while conducting a photo exercise during Operation NANOOK (OP NANOOK) in the Atlantic Ocean, Aug. 18, 2024. OP NANOOK is the Canadian Armed Forces’ annual series of Arctic exercises designed to enhance defense capabilities, ensure the security of northern regions, and improve interoperability with allied forces. Delbert D. Black participated in the operation alongside the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian and Danish allies to bolster Arctic readiness and fulfill each nation’s defense commitments. (U.S. Navy photo 240818-N-MA550-1086 by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Rylin Paul)

The U.S. Coast Guard Arctic Strategy has been in a holding pattern for the past decade.

In that time, no (as in zero) new ice-capable ships have been added to the fleet or even progressed so far as to be christened. This while the country’s only medium polar icebreaker has suffered a fire that forced her to abort her latest NSF mission and the country’s only heavy polar icebreaker going through never-ending cycles of rebuilding the 50-year-old ship for 240 days a year to be able to accomplish the annual Deep Freeze resupply mission to Antarctica.

While the agency is spending $125 million on the troubled but supposedly “off the shelf” ice-capable oil field supply boat Aiviq and plans to base it in Alaska, the “The Service anticipates the vessel will reach initial operational capability in two years.”

Likewise, the multi-billion dollar effort to build the planned class of Polar Security Cutters seems to be almost for naught, with GAO griping that the design hasn’t even been finished yet despite the contract being awarded in 2019. While three of these big (22,000-ton) WMSPs are authorized, the first one will not hit its Seattle homeport until at least 2028– and don’t hold your breath on that.

Meanwhile, the only blue water cutter based in Alaska, the nearly 60-year-old USCGC Alex Haley (WMEC 39)— which often bumps into Russian naval assets in the Bearing Sea-– isn’t getting any younger. She needs a rapid replacement. 

The solution? Pump to brakes on the PSC to make sure we get it right and order a few Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessels from Canada to help walk the beat.

HMCS Harry DeWolf

The Canadians have four of these 6,600-ton/340-foot vessels in service and two under construction with two more on order for the RCN and two unarmed near-sister Arctic and offshore patrol ships (AOPS) for the Canadian Coast Guard which are currently under construction. The eighth and final ship will be delivered in 2028. The cost is about $700 million U.S. per hull. 

The Wolfs are ugly, but have a good bit of capability, being capable of operating year-round in Polar Class 4-5 ice (up to 3.9 feet of first-year ice), while embarking a big helicopter (the 30,000-pound Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, which goes four tons heavier than the HH/SH/MH-60) and UAVs along with two large 28-foot cutters and a 40-foot landing craft.

Slow (17 knots) they have long legs (6,800nm unrefueled), able to cover the entire 1,900-mile span of the Northwest Passage, or the shorter Seattle-to-Kodiak or Boston-to-Thule runs with ease. The complement is 65, with spare berthing for embarked heli/drone dets and scientific nerds.

Armed for a constabulary “presence” and sovereignty mission they carry an enclosed Mk 38 Mod 3A 25 mm cannon and provision for a few .50 caliber mounts. In USCG service, this could be repeated and the Mk 38 updated to a 30mm gun– which is already planned for the Polar Security Cutter. I say add some Naval Strike Missiles for some serious teeth.

Produced by Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, Nova Scotia, they are a tweak of the Norwegian Coast Guard NoCGV’s Svalbard (W303), a 6,400-ton/340-foot icebreaker and offshore patrol vessel that entered service in 2001.

Ordering while the line is hot speeds up delivery and reaps the benefit of the RCN being the beta tester on the first flight ships, allowing improvements and lessons learned to be folded into the new USCG hulls. Crews could be spun up quickly by deploying chiefs and junior officers on RCN vessels. 

Further, the Trudeau government would likely be open to selling 2-3 of the ships already under construction to the U.S. to speed up the acquisition process then “forgetting” to replace them for RCN, and CCG. If nothing else, they could be launched at Irving and finished in American yards (or at the USCG Yard) with Irving’s assistance to soothe the “not made here/American jobs” noise in Congress. 

Trudeau probably would have canceled them anyway.

Getting it Done, While Missing Some Names on the Watch Bill

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Check out this great moto shot of the 270-foot Bear (Legend) class USCGC Escanaba (WMEC 907) as she offloaded more than 3,400 pounds of cocaine and 4,410 pounds of marijuana with a combined assessed street value of approximately $50 million in Port Everglades (Miami) last week after an East Pac patrol under JIATF-South tasking.

USCG Photo 240823-G-FH885-1001 by Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric Rodriguez

Taking a closer look, you see the six camouflaged gents minus nametapes which would be hardlegs of Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 107 from Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team – Pacific (PAC TACLET).

Going further, you see the six Nomex-clad Airedales of Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) Jacksonville in front of their MH-65 Dolphin.

Then, counting heads in blue smurf suits and caps, you have about 80 officers and ratings of Escanaba’s crew, including the two wearing LE belts and plate carriers which are probably MEs (Maritime Enforcement Specialists).

The problem is, every journal and spec sheet on the 270s says it rates a 100-member crew and can add extra ship riders and a heli/UAV det on top of that.

Sure, somebody had to take the picture (although it was likely a District PAO from ashore) and there may be a couple of engineering guys down below but it still seems like Escanba was sailing about 15-20 percent light– on an operational deployment from Charleston SC to the Eastern Pacific and back.

No bueno. 

Meanwhile, in the Pacific…

 
At the same time, Bear-class sister USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) last week returned to Honolulu following a 68-day patrol in support of Coast Guard District 14th Operation Blue Pacific in Oceania. The 13,400 nm patrol saw the cutter make port calls in Tonga, American Samoa, Samoa, the Cook Islands, and French Polynesia. While at anchor on 4 July following the Royal Tongan Navy’s International Fleet Review to celebrate King Tupou VI’s 65th birthday and the 50th anniversary of the Tongan Navy, her crew got in a good moto shot, complete with crisp Tropical Blues, glad rags flying, and lots of shades. 
 
All 72 of them. 
 

Notice Harriet Lane has landed her 76mm OTO MK 75 in favor of a Mk 38 25mm mount, which can account for a GMG rate or two, but she is still running a little light. (U.S. Coast Guard photo 240704-G-G0214-1001, courtesy Cutter Harriet Lane)

Compare the above to crew-only shots of sisters USCGC Tampa (WMEC-902) and Forward (WMEC-911) in 2019 while at Port Everglades doing drug offloads after patrols. In each of these, well over 90 personnel can be seen.

While the USCG has a well-advertised personnel shortage– which it has addressed by laying up cutters that otherwise should still be in service– sailing this light is probably going to catch up in a bad way.

Increasingly ‘Runway Agnostic’

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A U.S. Air Force MC-130J Commando II, assigned to the 492nd Special Operations Wing, lands on Highway 63 during Emerald Warrior 24 FTX II in Bono, Arkansas, on August 4, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ty Pilgrim) 240804-F-QE874-1128

In 2022, the USAF conducted a series of highway landings in Michigan with a host of spooky little special ops wing aircraft (U-28A, C-145, C-146, and MC-12W) that are used to flying into tiny strips and strip-like areas in places they have never officially been. The same exercise also saw the first integrated combat turn of an A-10-– refueled and rearmed with the engines still running, pitstop style– on a U.S. highway. The ANG A-10 unit that pulled it off had been practicing highway ops for a minute.

Well, the Air Force just upstaged that this week in Emerald Warrior FTX II.

Using local law enforcement to close off an unusually straight five-lane section of U.S. 63 and a portion of 230 outside of Bono, Arkansas (pop. 2,121) commandos of the 1st Special Operations Wing established and secured a 5,000-foot landing zone on the 3-mile-long strip of closed-down highway.

Soon after a twin-engine C-146, followed by a big hulking MC-130J Commando, touched down just after dawn then, after setting up a forward refueling point, an AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship came in and did a turnaround– a historic first.

A U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship, assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing, prepares to land on Highway 63 during Emerald Warrior 24 FTX II in Bono, Arkansas, on August 4, 2024. The objective of the operation was to train aircrews on runway-agnostic operations to enable Air Commandos to effectively work in contested spaces where traditional airfields may be unavailable or under threat. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Saisha Cornett)

To show that not just the cool kids can do this, the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Wing stepped in to execute takeoffs and landings at the highway site with a more, um, vintage C-130H.

USCG (Quietly) Poking Around All the Corners of the Pacific

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While I have recently pointed out that the USCG’s small force of frigate-sized National Security Cutters has been busy this summer ranging to the East China Sea, participating in RIMPAC ’24, and the bird-dogging the Chinese around the Aleutians, two other ops have been going on as well– and have flown under the radar.

GALAPEX 2024

The USCG cutter USCGC Benjamin Bottoms (WPC-1132) recently participated, with maritime forces from 13 other countries, in GALAPEX 2024.

Put on by the Ecuadorian Navy around the Galapagos Islands, the two-week multinational naval exercise is “designed to improve interoperability and cooperation between the navies of different countries. Through simulations and joint maneuvers, participants practice coordination in maritime security operations, combating common threats such as illegal fishing, and responding to emergencies.”

Participants included the Ecuadorian Esmeraldas class corvette BAE Loja (CM 16), patrol ship BAE Hualcopo, tanker BAE Atahualpa, and fleet tug BAE Imbabura (RA 72); the new Dutch (Damen Stan 5009) built Ecuadoran Guardacostas patrulleras LAE Isla San Cristobal (LG-30) and LAE Isla Isabela (LG-31), Peru’s South Korean (STX) made Guardacostas patrulleras BAP Río Huarmey (209), and the Colombian Navy’s CPV-46 class patrullero costero ARC Punta Ardita (PC-147).

Bottoms, the 32nd Sentinel-class cutter, was commissioned in 2019 and is based out of San Pedro, California– some 3,500 nm north of the Galapagos.

This shows the legs these 154-foot cutters have, with a little bit of help downrange. The class has been ranging around the South Pacific as far as Australia (from Hawaii) and has largely self-deployed from the East Coast to the Persian Gulf. 

As noted by USCG PAO:

Transiting 3,500 miles from homeport to Ecuador and Galapagos Islands, the crew pushed the boundaries of mission sets and downrange operations. The ability to conduct expeditionary operations in support of our Central and South American partners could only be possible with the support of the Coast Guard’s Expeditionary Logisitics Element (LOG-X), providing foreign port contracting services and advanced medical staffing through the deployable independent duty health services technician billet.

Operation Nasse

Speaking to engaging with small maritime forces in the Pacific, one of the Coast Guard’s precious Hawaii-based HC-130J Super Herks is just coming off a tour around the West Pac.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Junior Grade Nick Fuist and Lt. Cmdr. Keith Arnold , two pilots at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, man the controls of aHC-130 Super Hercules in the skies above Auckland, New Zealand, Jul. 9, 2024. The U.S. Coast Guard completed participation in Operation Nasse, a three-month operation conducted by Australia, France, New Zealand, and the U.S. to safeguard the invaluable marine resources of Pacific Island nations and the Western Central Pacific Ocean (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicholas Martino) 240709-G-G0214-1003

USCG PAO:

From July 1-12, an HC-130J Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point patrolled the South Pacific High Seas in and around the Exclusive Economic Zones of Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga, Niue, and the Cook Islands to detect, investigate and report any illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity.

Joint efforts for Operation Nasse covered over 16,000 square miles, with the U.S. Coast Guard contributing:

Over 58 hours of flight time
37 vessels sighted and analyzed
Four potential Conservation and Management Measures (CMM) violations reported
240 hours of analyst-to-analyst collaboration and training

Bertholfs Hitting it Hard

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The Coast Guard only has 10 Legend (Bertholf) class National Security Cutters to its name.

Ordered starting in 2005 to replace the long-serving Vietnam-era 378-foot Hamilton-class cutters that had almost 50 years on their hulls, the Bertholfs are the largest non-logistics/icebreaker cutters the service has ever had, pushing 418 feet oal with a 4,600-ton displacement.

They have a lot going for them, with an economical CODAG engineering plant that allows for a 12,000nm range when on patrol and bursts of “over 28 knots,” they have extensive helicopter/UAV support facilities and a modest self-defense capability.

When it comes to sensors, while they aren’t in the same category as a true frigate, they have decent air/surface-search radars, IFF/TACAN, a SLQ-32 EW suite, and a sonar that reportedly has mine-hunting capabilities.

While great for busting smugglers and policing duties, the NSCs are armed akin to an LCS…

Importantly, they have all the goodies needed to operate as part of a modern naval task force including Link 11 and Link 16 and underway replenishment gear, allowing them to both tank and transfer from larger vessels and send to smaller ones– which allows them a “mother ship” role to smaller cutters on a deployment.

As some proof in the pudding, three of the service’s Bertholfs were recently underway in three different parts of the world, adding a speck of white to otherwise haze gray formations.

USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757), taking part in RIMPAC ’24 off Hawaii, was captured in a great shot last week conducting a dual transfer with the Italian Thaon di Revel-class offshore patrol vessel ITS Raimondo Montecuccoli (P432) from the Royal Canadian Navy replenishment ship MV Asterix.

Photo by Royal Canadian Navy Sailor First Class Brendan McLoughlin.

Meanwhile, the crew of the USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) returned to their home port in North Charleston last week following a 63-day patrol in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea in support of homeland defense and counterdrug operations.

During her deployment, she steamed in tandem with U.S. Second Fleet and Canadian Joint Task Force-Atlantic maritime forces.

Canadian Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ville de Québec (FFH 332) and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone (WMSL 758) steam in formation, on June 9, 2024, while underway in the Atlantic Ocean. Stone and Ville de Québec operated in the Atlantic Ocean in the U.S. 2nd Fleet area of operations in support of maritime stability and security in the region. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ensign Alana Kickhoefer)

Likewise, the crew of the USCGC James (WMSL 754) returned to their home port in North Charleston last week after completing a 98-day patrol in the South Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

While down south, James worked along with the George Washington Carrier Group, called in several Latin American ports, conducted a live fire exercise, and steamed alongside ships from Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil.

Legend-class cutter USCGC James (WSML 754), left, and Brazilian navy Niterói-class frigates União (F 45) and Independência (F 44) operate in formation with Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) as part of a bilateral exercise between the U.S. and the Brazilian navy in the Atlantic Ocean, May 18, 2024. Porter is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2024 which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David C. Fines)

Besides these three Bertholfs, keep in mind that a fourth member of the class, USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751), is still underway in the Westpac and has been operating in the South China Sea with white hulled partners from South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines.

(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ensign Julia VanLuven)

Going further, a fifth Bertholf, USCGC Kimball (WMSL-756), has been bird-dogging a Chinese task force that was poking around the Aleutians earlier this month.

That’s five very busy hulls out of the ten the Coast Guard has. Talk about punching above its weight class.

A Lot Has Changed in the Arctic Since 2019

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A force of 37 U.S. and Canadian Soldiers was tactically inserted in 50 below F weather by a ski-equipped LC-130H Hercules onto Arctic Ocean ice just east of Little Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada, during exercise Guerrier Nordique 23 on March 15, 2023. Notably, almost all involved were reservists with the LC-130 coming from the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing– the only ski-equipped airlift squadron in U.S. service– while the soldiers were largely from the Vermont and Utah National Guard and Canadian 35th Brigade Group, 34th Canadian Brigade Group, and the Canadian Rangers. 230315-A-FN054-945

The Pentagon this week released its 2024 DOD Arctic Strategy, which is the first update to DOD’s approach to the region since 2019. A lot has changed in the region in the past half-decade, with Russia and China getting more active in the Arctic while Sweden and Finland are now NATO allies.

Note that Thule Air Base is now Pituffik Space Base, under Space Force command since 2020, and still operates the POGO station under the aegis of the 821st Space Base Group. Also note the old Shemya Air Force Base in the Aleutians is Eareckson Air Station and is primarily just a 10,000-foot emergency strip with a small group of about 100 contractors, similar to the facility at Wake Island.

“The Arctic region of the United States is critical to the defense of our homeland, the protection of U.S. national sovereignty, and the preservation of our defense treaty commitments,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. “Our Arctic strategy will guide the Department’s efforts to ensure that the Arctic remains a secure and stable region.

The 29-page document is here.

Rocket-Carrying Drone Boats? We got that

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The ROK Marine Corps ordered the LIG Nex1 Poniard (Bigung) light “fire and forget” surface-to-surface missile in 2016 for coastal defense use, specifically to zap North Korean landing craft and small high-speed boats in the littoral.

Using the same footprint as the 2.75-inch rocket, it can be fired from 18-cell pods, similar to those used on helicopters, and carried by truck. The key to the system is that the target detection, launcher, launch control, and rockets can all be mounted on a single vehicle rather than needing a whole battery of trucks and vans for to sling a few warheads.

South Korea’s Poniard (Bigung) road-mobile guided rocket system seen in two 18-cell launchers on the back of a truck in 2020. The ROK Marine Corps already operates an unknown number of Bigung launchers on the Western island chain garrisons.

A big development on Poniard is that we have seen this week during RIMPAC, its use by a small unmanned surface vessel.

As noted by NAVSEA:

The U.S. Navy achieved a significant milestone at the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 exercise with the successful launching and testing of Poniard rockets from a 39-foot Textron Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV). The 12 July test is part of the Navy’s mission to continually enhance and expand its maritime capabilities and operational flexibility via security cooperation and innovation with allies and partners.

Multiple Poniard rockets, low-cost guided munitions, were fired from the CUSV during a series of exercises conducted off the coast of Hawaii. The live-fire demonstration was the culminating event of an ongoing Foreign Comparative Test (FCT) project under the auspices of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E). This innovative capability test demonstrates the Navy’s commitment to integrating mature cutting-edge technology into its operations to maintain maritime superiority and readiness.

The rocket-armed CUSV was apparently launched and recovered from a 4,000-ton Korean LSD, ROKS Cheon Ja Bong (LST-687) but obviously could be done from an LCS, which may be a bit of a game changer for that platform.

A Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV), heads out to sea for the Poniard launching test from ROKS Cheon Ja Bong, on 12 July. Multiple Poniard rockets, low-cost guided munitions, were fired from the CUSV during a series of exercises conducted off the coast of Hawaii during RIMPAC 2024.

240712-N-N2201-001 (July 12, 2024) A Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV), heads out to sea for the Poniard launching test from ROKS Cheon Ja Bong as part of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), 12 July. This innovative capability test demonstrates the Navy’s commitment to integrating mature cutting-edge technology into its operations to maintain maritime superiority and readiness.

A Poniard fired from a Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV) successfully strikes a target vessel during the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), 12 July. This live fire demonstration was part of the RIMPAC exercise, held biennially in and around the Hawaiian Islands, which is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise hosted by the U.S. Third Fleet.

Racing Stripes in the South China Sea

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How about this for “the way of the world” in 2024? Below you have a bilateral U.S.-Philippine search and rescue exercise conducted on 16 July between the U.S. Coast Guard Bethoff-class cutter USCGC Waesche (WMSL 751) and the Philippine Coast Guard ‘s Teresa Magbanua-class patrol vessel BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702). Operations included a joint sail and conducting search and rescue (SAR) training, personnel transfer evolutions, and bilateral sailing.

(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ensign Julia VanLuven)

As noted by the USCG PAO:

“It was an honor to train with our partners in the Philippine Coast Guard to ensure that we are always ready to respond to save lives on the high seas,” said Capt. Tyson Scofield, commanding officer of Waesche. “We look forward to fostering our relationship as we strive to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific. Sharing lessons learned and best practices through person-to-person exercises is the best way to improve our ability to operate together on the unforgiving ocean.”

The 418-foot Waesche is under the operational control of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.

She is the second Legend-class cutter of the U.S. Coast Guard and is homeported at Coast Guard Island in Alameda. With a 4,600 long-ton displacement, these frigate-sized cutters have a top speed “in excess of 28 knots” a seriously long range of 12,000 nautical miles, and carry a crew of up to 170 including an aviation det, and, when deployed on such a mission, typically some USN and USMC commo and language specialists. Armament is limited to a 57mm DP Bofors, a CIWS, some crew-served MGs, and passive countermeasures (Mk 53 Nulka decoy, Mk 36 SRBOC, AN/SLQ-32B(V)2 EW). I’d like to see at least some NSMs and ASW capabilities added as well as CIWS dropped for a SeaRAM or an ADL ESSM system, but hey…

Since leaving the West Coast for her West Pac cruise, Waesche has called at Pohang in South Korea and worked alongside the ROK Coast Guard and at Maizuru, Japan, where she worked alongside the JCG.

Republic of Korea Coast Guard vessel KCG Taepyongyang (KCG-3016), U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL-751) and Japan Coast Guard vessel JCGC Wakasa (PL-93) patrol in formation during a trilateral exercise in the East Sea, June 6, 2024. Coast Guardsmen from Japan, Republic of Korea and the United States used the trilateral exercise as an opportunity to rehearse cohesion between the nations when operating together. U.S. Coast Guard missions in the Indo-Pacific focus on issues directly supporting and advancing our regional partners’ efforts to protect fish stocks, ensure the safety of life at sea, support environmental response, and provide disaster relief. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Elijah Murphy)

First National Guard F-15EXs Arrive on the Job

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The Redhawks of the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing are the first in the country to receive the new AN/APG-82-equipped F-15EX Eagle II and they were unveiled to the public last week.

An F-15EX Eagle II, assigned to the 142nd Wing, takes off during the official Unveiling Ceremony for the new fighter jet at the Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon on July 12, 2024. The 142nd Wing will be replacing the F-15 C/D model Eagles with the new F-15EX Eagle II models. (National Guard photo by John Hughel, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)

The all-weather multirole strike fighter, developed from the circa 2013 F-15 Advanced Eagle which led to the very sophisticated F-15SA and F-15QA for the Saudis and Qataris, is intended to replace the venerable F-15C/D, which in many cases is pushing 50 years old.

With the USAF slated to receive 104 new F-15EXs, the 142nd will get 18 airframes as will fellow Air National Guard ADF units: the 144th Fighter Wing at Fresno Air National Guard Base, California, and the 159th Fighter Wing at New Orleans.

On the active side of things, the Okinawa (Kadena AB)-based 18th Wing will fly F-15Exs in its 44th FS and 67th FS.

So far, Boeing has only delivered 8 F-15EXs, with the first six going to training units. The 142nd is getting the first Lot 1 combat-ready models, including EX7 and EX8, which left the factory in the unit’s markings earlier this month.

The Oregon Air Guard has been “Eagle Drivers” for 35 years. As noted by the service:

The history of the F-15 Eagle fighter jet at the Portland Air National Guard Base began on May 24, 1989, as the replacement for the F-4 Phantom II. Most of the early planes came from the 318th Fighter Interceptor Group at McChord Air Force Base, Washington, which was being disbanded. For the next 20 years, the 142nd flew the F-15 A/B models, including the last ‘A model’ in the U.S. Air Force inventory, which was retired on Sept. 16, 2009, while phasing in upgraded C and D models in late 2007.

An F-15EX Eagle II, assigned to the 142nd Wing, taxis on the flight line before take-off during the official Unveiling Ceremony for the new fighter jet at the Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon on July 12, 2024. The 142nd Wing will be replacing the F-15 C/D model Eagles with the new F-15EX Eagle II models. (National Guard photo by John Hughel, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)

Chinese Navy Inside US EEZ in Bearing Sea, again

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A Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crewmember observing a foreign vessel in the Bering Sea, September 19, 2022. (USCG Photo)

Looks like the frigate-sized (but not frigate-armed) USCGC Kimball (WMSL 756) has once again spotted another PLAN task group bumping around inside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, which is legal of course since they were still far enough out to be in international waters, but is still kinda creepy.

As detailed by the USCG PAO:

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) detected three vessels approximately 124 miles north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands, and an HC-130J aircrew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak detected an additional vessel approximately 84 miles north of the Amukta Pass.

All four of the People’s Republic of China vessels were transiting in international waters but still inside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from the U.S. shoreline.

“The Chinese naval presence operated in accordance with international rules and norms,” said Rear Adm. Megan Dean, Seventeenth Coast Guard District commander. “We met presence with presence to ensure there were no disruptions to U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska.”

The Chinese vessels responded to U.S. Coast Guard radio communication and their stated purpose was “freedom of navigation operations.” Coast Guard cutter Kimball continued to monitor all ships until they transited south of the Aleutian Islands into the North Pacific Ocean. The Kimball continues to monitor activities in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone to ensure the safety of U.S. vessels and international commerce in the area.

The Coast Guard, in coordination with U.S. Northern Command, was fully aware of and tracked the Chinese naval presence. In September of 2021 and 2022, Coast Guard cutters deployed in the Bering Sea also encountered Chinese surface action groups.

The Kimball patrolled under Operation Frontier Sentinel, a Coast Guard operation designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters. The U.S Coast Guard’s presence strengthens the international rules-based order and promotes the conduct of operations in a manner that follows international norms.

Coast Guard Cutter Kimball is a 418-foot legend class national security cutter homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Of course, this isn’t the first time the USCG, as mentioned above, has seen PLAN assets in local Alaska waters– remember the Navy has more or less pulled out of the area long ago, with the Dutch Harbor Naval Base shuttered in 1947 and Naval Air Facility Adak closed in 1997, leaving the Coasties to basically run point on the 49th state with the exception of the SEAFAC range and a USNR center in Anchorage.

However, the Coasties do this largely with cutters sent from the West Coast and Hawaii, as the only forward-deployed cutter in the region is the USCGC Alex Haley (WMEC-39), ex-USS Edenton (ATS-1), a 3,500-ton/18-knot circa 1968 British-built converted salvage ship that only carries a pair of 25mm guns and another pair of 50 calls.

Not a lot of muscle. 

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley returns to homeport at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, on Jan. 12, 2023, following an extended seven-month dry dock maintenance period in Seattle, Washington. Following its dry dock period, the Alex Haley will be able to continue operating as the Coast Guard’s primary asset in the Bering Sea with renewed and improved capabilities. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ian Gray

It would be nice if the USCG managed to order a 12th National Security Cutter to replace Haley, or even if the Navy managed to keep an ancient Tico around and station it in the region if nothing else than to serve as an old dog asleep on the porch that could bark whenever interlopers get too close to the fence. Leave it under Third Fleet control. Light up that big SPY radar every now and then. Fire off a few missiles every RIMPAC. 

Heck, even RADM Robert “Fuzzy” Theobald’s Dutch Harbor-based Task Force Tare managed to scrape together five cruisers in June 1942.

Maybe start rotating 3-4 P-8 Poseidons at a time through Adak from the six active and one USNR squadrons at NAS Whidbey Island, at least during the summer months when the Chinese seem to be braving the Northern latitudes. It’s a concept the Pentagon looked at a couple years ago.

Anyway, putting away my Alaska soap box now. 

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