Current USCG strength
The USCG just released their 20-page Presidential Transition Team U.S. Coast Guard Overview filled with stats and mission-speak.
Among the more interesting takeaways are the current cutter, aircraft and boat numbers:
Category Archives: War On Terror
Pirates and terrorist small boats popping back up
Galicia Spirit. Photo: MarineTraffic.com/
Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the water…
On Oct.25, there was a LNG tanker, Galicia Spirit, which was attacked by a skiff off the Yemen coast. While at first thought, you may think pirates, but there is much more to the story.
In an update on Thursday, Teekay said it had now conducted an investigation with security experts. This indicated that “the skiff (small boat) that engaged in an attack on the Galicia Spirit using small arms was also carrying a substantial amount of explosives.”
It added: “While the intentions of the attackers and the use of the explosives is unknown, the investigation findings indicate that the explosives would have been sufficient to have caused significant damage to the vessel.
“It appears, however, that when the skiff was approximately 20m (meters) from the vessel, the explosives detonated, destroying the skiff and ending the attack.”
Also last week, came news that a crew of a South Korean chemical tanker recently thwarted the first attack the pirates of the Somali coast in over two years.
European Union’s counter-piracy naval force (EU Navfor) confirmed on Nov. 4 that six armed men attacked chemical tanker CPO Korea 330 nautical miles (610 km) east of Somalia on Oct. 22, the first reported attack on a major vessel off the country for two and a half years.
The last reported attack was in February 2014 and involved a container ship which came under fire from gunmen in waters near Somalia, EU Navfor said.
All tricks, no treats: Coasties chalk up another sneaky narco sub, making 43 total
The Alameda, California-based USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751), one of the new 418-foot Legend-class National Security Cutters, offloaded 39,000 pounds of cocaine Thursday at Naval Base San Diego– including a large bust from a narco sub.
The self-propelled semi-submersible, or SPSS, was stopped in the Pacific Ocean off Central America on September 6.
Upon sighting the vessel, the cutter launched two fast pursuit boats with boarding teams and an armed helicopter crew to interdict the SPSS. Five suspects, apprehended by the Coasties (where are you going to go in open ocean?) attempted to scuttle the dope boat as water filled the smuggler to just below the helm.
Waesche crew members boarded the sinking vessel and were able to dewater it using portable pumps, allowing boarding officers to safely remove over 5,600 pounds of cocaine from the SPSS. It is the sixth such submersible captured this year by the service and the 43rd total.
According to a fact sheet from the service, Coast Guardsmen apprehended a total 585 suspected drug smugglers in Fiscal Year 2016– a new record for the service, up from 503 suspected drug smugglers last year.
Four years in pirate prison
The FV Naham 3, right, tied to the sunken cargo ship MV Albedo, the latter pirated in November 2010. Photo: EU NAVFOR
In one of the last gasps of Somali piracy, the remaining 26 man mixed international crew of the Omani-flagged FV Naham 3, seized in 2012 close to the Seychelles in a pirate attack, have been released by their captors.
Via Reuters:
“The crew is staying overnight in Galkayo. They will arrive in (the Kenyan capital) Nairobi at 1830 local time tomorrow,” said John Steed, East Africa region manager for the Oceans Beyond Piracy group.
The mayor of Galkayo in northern Somalia had earlier said the crew was set to arrive in Kenya on Saturday afternoon.
“The crew did not say if ransom was paid,” mayor Hirsi Yusuf Barre told Reuters.
Their period of captivity is one of the longest among hostages seized by pirates in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation.
Steed said one member of the crew had died during the hijacking while two succumbed to illness. Among those released, one was being treated for a gunshot wound on his foot and three were diabetic.
The sailors were held in Dabagala near the town of Harardheere some 400 km (250 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu. Harardheere became known as Somalia’s main pirate base at the height of the crisis.
Naham 3 is going to be in Somalia the rest of her life, she sank in 2013.
A British Apache in California
Star trails over an Apache AH Mk 1 of 4 Regiment Army Air Corps (4 Regt AAC) sitting in the Mojave Desert during a Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) training exercise, working alongside Dutch, US and Singapore troops as part of Ex Black Alligator currently taking place in California. MoD photo.
Starting in 1998, the Brits arranged for AgustaWestland Apache to produce 67 license-built versions of the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter for the British Army’s Army Air Corps to replace 1980s-era Westland Lynx AH7s. Since being delivered they have done yeoman work around the world seeing particularly heavy service in Afghanistan (with Prince Harry at the throtle of one) as well as operating from HMS Ocean off Libya in 2011–engaging targets there at least 39 times.
The Brits still have 50 aircraft in active service in seven squadrons of the 3 and 4 Regt AAC out of 66 airframes (one was written off in 2008 after cracking up shortly after takeoff in Helmand province, no loss of life occurred) and are expected to be replaced around 2024 by 50 Boeing AH-64Es bought direct via US Foreign Military Sales (FMS).
Have an interrogation scene?
Are you curious to read the 14-page report from the FBI-administered High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group and summarizes best practices for interrogation that do not involve the use of force? Those of you out there who are writers may find this interesting, for research purposes.
The reports of Swift’s death have been greatly exaggerated
Over the weekend news and video surfaced that the former HSV Swift, which had been leased to MSC for 10 years from 2003-2013 and is currently owned by Emirates-based UAE Marine Dredging Company but was chartered by the United Arab Emirates military for coastal transport, was sunk after a missile attack by Houthis rebels.
Well, it turns out that the ship was able to make it to port and all of her 24 (mostly Indian and Ukrainian) civilian mariners are safe. But she is likely headed for the scrappers after being hellah banged up as reported by The Drive.
Photo credit: Emirates News Agency
Photo credit: Emirates News Agency
Photo credit: Emirates News Agency
Reports now indicate the weapons used could have been Chinese-built C-802 anti-ship missiles (NATO reporting name CSS-N-8 Saccade) or guided anti-tank weapons. I can see that. After all, one has to remember what happened to the aluminum-superstructure of the Argentine corvette ARA Guerrico at the hands of a force of Royal Marines on South Georgia who had a few simple 84mm rockets and small arms back in 1982.
Meanwhile, three US Navy warships have been dispatched to the coast of Yemen following the Swift incident. The Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Nitze (DDG-94), USS Mason (DDG-87) and the MSC-manned laser-slinging afloat forward staging base USS Ponce (AFSB(I)-15) are now stationed near Bab Al Mandeb strait where the missile attack took place.
In other news, the Saudis are holding a big naval drill, Gulf Shield 1, and Iran is suggesting the kingdom’s deputy crown prince is so “impatient” he may kill his own father to take the throne. Oh, Iran…
Little Birds, Afghan style
“Train Advise Assist Command – Air (TAAC – Air) advisors from the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing fly Afghan Air Force’s newest MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters for a training event. The new helicopters are capable of firing 2.75” rockets and .50-cal machine guns for close air support.”
The U.S. Army adopted the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse (nicknamed “Loach”, after the program acronym LOH—Light Observation Helicopter) in 1965 and fielded more than 1,400 of these egg shaped killers in the Vietnam era and, while largely replaced by the 1980s, the AH6/MH6 Little Bird variants did yeoman work with special operations units in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere during the Reagan era (see Operation Prime Chance).
Over Mogadishu during the Blackhawk Down affair, it was four MH-6s (Barbers 51-54 of the 160th SOAR) that kept the city at bay overnight.
“In the movie, the gunships are shown making only one attack. In fact, they were constantly engaged all night long. Each aircraft reloaded six times. It is estimated that they fired between 70 and 80,000 rounds of minigun ammo and fired a total 90 to 100 aerial rockets. They were the only thing that kept the Somalis from overrunning the objective area. All eight gunship pilots were awarded the Silver Star. Every one of them deserved it.” (source)
Today the Army still has about 47 Little Birds of various marks, and the Afghan Air Force is using the next best thing.
The MD 530F Cayuse Warrior, shown turning and burning above, is flown jointly by U.S. and Afghanistan forces and see combat just about every day. The last four of 27 MD 530Fs arrived at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul aboard a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter in late August as noted by Janes.
They are all moving to use the Enhanced-Mission Equipment Package (EMEP) which offers the FN Herstal 12.7 mm Heavy Machine Gun Pod (HMP) or 70 mm rockets.
Say it’s not so, Coronado
160629-N-IY142-050 PEARL HARBOR (June 29, 2016) USS Coronado (LCS 4) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for Rim of the Pacific 2016. Twenty-six nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 30 to Aug. 4, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. (U.S. Navy Photo By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Herman/RELEASED)
It looks like a fourth LCS has suffered an engineering casualty, USS Coronado (LCS 4).
The crew took precautionary measures, and the ship is currently returning to Pearl Harbor to determine the extent of the problem and conduct repairs. Coronado is operating under her own power and is being escorted by USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187).
This adds Coronado to the list that includes USS Freedom (LCS 1) last week, USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) in last December, and USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) in January. That makes four littoral combat ships– three Freedom class and now one Independence class– that have taken a hit on their propulsion suites in a nine month period. As these ships are lightly armed and speed is their best weapon, this sucks.
And the brass seem kinda hosed off.
Statement from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson:
“Last night’s problem is the fourth issue in the last year. Some of these were caused by personnel, and some were due to design and engineering. These issues are all receiving our full and immediate attention, both individually and in the aggregate. To address the personnel and training issues, I established a program-wide review earlier this summer to incorporate deployment lessons learned and identify systemic problems with how the program was structured. Vice Adm. Rowden has completed the review, which recommends changes to the crewing, deployment, mission module, training and testing concepts. These changes will provide more ownership and stability, while also allowing for more forward presence. In light of recent problems, we also recognize more immediate action needs to be taken as well. The review is being briefed to leadership before implementation. I also support Vice Adm. Rowden’s decision to improve oversight class-wide, which will result in the retraining and certifying of all LCS Sailors who work in engineering.
“With respect to the engineering issues, we are reviewing each one and making the appropriate corrections. For instance, the software problem on USS Milwaukee has been corrected for all ships. NAVSEA and SURFOR will review this most recent problem to determine the cause, and we will respond as needed to correct it.
“The entire leadership team is focused on ensuring our ships are properly designed and built, and that our Sailors have the tools and training they need to safely and effectively operate these ships. These ships bring needed capability to our combatant and theater commanders–we must get these problems fixed now.”
Admiral Kuznetsov to see combat for the first time in her life
Although she has had a less than stellar mechanical availability, the heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser (TAVKR) Kuznetsov, laid down in 1982, will be headed to war for the first time in her confusing life.
Commissioned at the tail end of the Cold War in 1990 (though not operational until at least 1995), Kuznetsov has always been the shiny “fleet-in-being” for the Russian Navy. Renamed no less than four times, the 61,000-ton very ship has a very potent weapons load to balance the fact that her airwing has always been lackluster, especially for a ship her size.
Semi-active for the past 26 years, she has only made five short summer deployments to the Mediterranean from her Northern base–typically escorted by an ocean going tug for those not so capable moments.
However, word has come that in October she will depart the great North once more for the Med, a departure from her typical summer-only cruises which could lead her to winter over in the Black Sea which is sure to be a hit with the Ukraine and Turkey.
In another radical move, she will engage in combat operations off Syria to support the Assad regime, which will be rough as she is much too large to dock at the Soviet Russian base at Tartus.
Her airwing will include about 15 short-legged Su-33 and MiG-29K/KUB fighters and “more than 10” Ka-52K Katran and Ka-27/31 Helix ASW/AEW helicopters.
The Ka-52K Katran will likely see its first seaborne combat in Syria this fall, a first for Russian aircraft carriers.
The use of the Ka-52, a particularity wicked-looking version of the “Hokum” gunship which only started delivery to the Russians in 2012 (and the navalised “K” variant last year), mirrors the use of AH-64 Apaches by the Brits from ships off Libya a few years back.
Also, it may be an audition to possible weapons deals in the area, as Egypt is buying a crapload of Ka-52s for their French-made Mistral LPDs.