Tag Archives: National Security Cutter

Modern Problems Require a Modern Surface Action Group

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How about these images of a three-pack of American maritime assets steaming into the Bay of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, this week under Operation Southern Spear. They include the 509-foot grey-hulled Flight IIA Burke, USS Stockdale (DDG 106), the 418-foot Berthoff-class National Security Cutter USCGC Stone (WMSL 758), and the old-school all-diesel 210-foot Reliance-class medium endurance cutter USCGC Diligence (WMEC 616).

Talk about a high-low-low mix.

Note that Stockton has an ODIN laser system in place of her forward CIWS

Of course, all the heavy lifting in the little SAG falls on the shoulders of Stockdale, while Stone and Diligence (the latter with a 10.5-foot draught) are more (wait for it) more littoral constabulary assets that can operate closer in-shore while still under the DDG’s protective umbrella.

Still, this can point to the detached SAG of the future.

Pacific Slug Fest Limitations: It all comes down to VLS

The Navy currently has around 8,700 VLS cells across 81 surface ships (7 x CGs, 74 DDGs) and 28 submarines (24 x SSNs, 4 SSGNs), but at least 1,470 of those cells will vanish in the next four years as the final seven Ticos and the only four SSGNs are removed from the fleet after 30-40 years of service.

That’s bad.

New incoming DDGs and SSNs in those four years will make good about half of those lost cells (in the best-case scenario), meaning that, no matter how you slice it, the Navy is facing a drop of something like 600-800 VLS cells by the end of the decade.

The first of 12 building 10,000-ton Block V Virginias, carrying 40 VLS cells up from the standard 12 cells (an idea to counter the loss of the long-in-the-teeth SSGNs), will start to arrive in 2028-29 and hopefully will help address some of the shortfall but even with that the Navy is still going to be light on cells at a time in which it should be growing the number, not struggling to (almost) maintain it.

Plus, there is the problem of reloading a VLS cell with more munitions as soon as possible, preferably without having to return to, say, 1,700nm to Guam or 5,000nm Pearl from an event off Taiwan. After all, once a DDG fires off its 96 cells, it is just a gunboat. A $2.5 billion LCS.

The Navy is aware of that and, in the past couple of years, has been advancing at-sea VLS replenishment, recently testing the Transferable Rearming Mechanism (TRAM) to reload Mk 41 VLS cells from supply vessels (e.g., USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11) and USNS Gopher State (TACS-4)). t but it is far from standard.

This could lead to a new class of VLS-rearming destroyer tenders, a concept that should have been fielded in the 1980s along with the first Burkes and Flight I Ticos.

Sailors from Navy Cargo Handling Battalion One (NCHB-1) onboard USS Chosin (CG-65) work with the ship’s force to complete a demonstration of the Transferrable Rearming Mechanism VLS Reloading At-Sea with the USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11) on Oct. 11, 2024, in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy Photo.)

Another option is MODEP, which is proposed by Leidos to repurpose surplus oil rigs into mobile missile defense and resupply bases that can be moved forward. Concepts have them carrying as many as 512 VLS loads.

MODEP:

The bad news on this is that swapping out empty VLS canisters for full ones can be time-consuming, meaning it could take as long as four days to refill an empty DDG. And that is if the weather and seas permit.

New frigates to the rescue

Another bite at closing the VLS gap, while putting more hulls in more places, is to add a 30-40 foot plug to Flight II of the Navy’s new fast frigate, which is based on the Coast Guard’s 418-foot NSC, as exemplified by the USCGC Stone above. The plug would only transform the length-to-beam ratio from its currently tubby 8:1 closer to a more svelte 9:1, but would add enough room to wedge a 64-cell strike-length VLS into the cutter/frigate and its ancillary wiring/support/venting space.

Plus, Ingalls has been spitballing such concepts for years, so you can bet they have guys already doing the math on this.

Ingalls Shipbuilding VLS-equipped Sea Control Patrol Frigate based on National Security Cutter. This was a concept as far back as 2017. It has the same length as the current NSC, but just add a 30-foot plug (maybe not even that long), and you could make a 64-cell VLS a thing

Yes, the ship doesn’t carry the sensors to wring the capability out of SM-2/3 anti-air missiles, but, pairing one of these Flight II NSC/FFs with a DDG could be the ticket, running cooperative engagement to bring many more missiles to the fight– akin to how 24 of the 31 Spruance-class destroyers were converted to feature a 61-cell Mark 41 in place of their original forward Mk 16 ASROC launchers during the 1980s and 90s. That upgrade allowed the VLS Sprucans to fire (lots) of Tomahawks and carry vertical-launch ASROCs instead of their old Matchbox launchers, which were limited to just eight ready rounds plus eight reloads.

The Sprucan USS Deyo, after her ASROC Matchbox launcher was removed and replaced with the 61-cell VLS. Also note the Phalanx CIWS mounts port and starboard.

A run of 20 of these theoretical Flight II NSC/FFs, built in 4-5 ship batches, awarded all-up to 2-3 yards, could backfill 1,280 VLS cells to the fleet. Fast.

Further, as these new frigates, just good for 27-28 knots (and only in bursts) likely won’t travel with the carrier battle groups all the time, by taking two Flight II NSC/FFs with their combined 128 VLS cells, and adding them to a DDG, then you have a task group capable of independent operation as a SAG that can count 228 VLS slots as well as four MH-60 airframes, assorted UAVs, 1 5-inch Mark 45, two 57mm guns, two (or three) 21-cell RAM launchers, 32 NSM anti-ship missiles, and assorted 25mm/.50 cal mounts.

In short, they could control a lot of sea and air space while only tying down three “little boys” and about 600 bluejackets. Plus, they could call at a lot more ports than a CVBG or ARG.

Nine such SAGs, operating on the periphery of the nine active carrier battle groups and nine active amphibious ready groups, could really add a wild card to naval tactics, especially in any sort of 2030s peer clash in the Western Pacific.

The FF(X): The Navy’s New (USCG’s Old) Small Surface Combatant

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As we covered previously, SECNAV and CNO have been flirting with the Coast Guard’s 418-foot Legend (Bertholf)-class National Security Cutter– one of which is often deployed on 2nd or 7th fleet tasking at any given time already– as the country’s new fast frigate.

Now, the flirting is over, and it is “Facebook official.” 

The FF(X) is a highly adaptable vessel. While its primary mission will be surface warfare, its ability to carry modular payloads and command unmanned systems enables it to execute a broad spectrum of operations, making it ready for the challenges of the modern maritime environment. Small surface combatants have always been essential to the fleet, handling a wide range of missions where a large warship isn’t required. The FF(X) will continue this vital role and will take on more routine operations, enhancing the fleet’s operational flexibility, adaptability, and mission readiness.

FF(X) is engineered for rapid, cost-effective production, enabling this vital capability to the fleet faster. This is made possible by basing the new frigate on HII’s proven Legend-Class National Security Cutter. This approach leverages a mature design to deliver ships to our sailors without delay.

Note, the “G” moniker doesn’t seem to be mentioned anymore as they apparently won’t have many guided missiles other than up to 16 NSMs on the stern and what looks to be a 21-cell RAM and an 8-cell tactical VLS forward, which could be quad-packed with Enhanced Sea Sparrows to give it 32 of the latter. If they could make that a 16-cell VLS, that could at least add a couple of SM-2s and vertically launched ASROCs to the mix.

Is a long-hulled variant coming, with, say, a 64-cell VLS, better sensors, and a twin helicopter hangar, while a Flight I group of ships gets built by a lead yard (Ingalls), then is expanded to a multi-yard design (Bath, Fincantieri, Austal, Bollinger?). Perhaps, as hinted at in the video.

In the meantime, well, any frigate is better than none.

I guess.

The Frigate Gap meets the Cutter Gap

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If only we kept the OHP FFG-7 line active in the same way the Burke DDG-51s have been, we wouldn’t have this problem and could have saved the whole LCS waking nightmare. I mean, you could see a Flight IIA FFG-7 with a 32-cell VLS instead of the old “one-armed bandit” Mk 13 launcher, C-RAM instead of CIWS, and a 57mm gun along with pocket Aegis sensors, couldn’t you?

Stripped-down white hulled versions could have clocked in with the Coast Guard, saving a lot of heartburn there as well.

Alas, with the Perrys, we never knew what we had til they were gone.

The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG 34) underway in 1982 during Bath trials DN-SC-85-04399

As everyone well knows, the Constellation class FFGs have been canceled after falling years behind schedule and millions over budget, with not much to show for it besides two building ships that will no doubt be tough to maintain by themselves over their lifecycle once they finally hit the fleet sometime in the 2030s.

Now, word comes that the current SECNAV wants a new frigate class to be “in the water” as soon as 2028, returning the type to the Navy List for the first time since USS Simpson (FFG-56) decommissioned in September 2015.

The only way to really do that is to restart a barely dormant program with a grey hull variant of the proven Ingalls-built Legend (Bertholf)-class National Security Cutter, being specifically mentioned by “sources.”

With decent sensors, TACAN, IFF, and Links 11 and 16, the NSCs have often been deployed with the frigate-poor Second Fleet in the Atlantic (roaming as far as the Black Sea) and to the West Pac under Seventh Fleet control since 2019, where their long legs (12,000nm, almost three times that of a Burke) and shallower draft (22 feet compared to a Burke’s 31+) come in handy.

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)

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) transits near the Singapore Straits, Feb. 29, 2024. The Bertholf is a 418-foot National Security Cutter currently deployed to the Indo-Pacific region under the tactical control of U.S. 7th Fleet. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier)

Two F/A-18E Super Hornets, attached to the “Tomcatters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31, fly over the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) James (WMSL 754), April 2, 2025. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is underway in the Atlantic Ocean, completing integrated naval warfighting training. Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) is the Joint Force’s most complex integrated training event and prepares naval task forces for sustained high-end Joint and combined combat. Integrated naval training provides America’s civilian leaders and commanders with highly capable forces that deter adversaries, underpin American security and economic prosperity, and reassure Allies and partners. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maxwell Orlosky)

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)

The NSCs are frigate-sized, at 4,700 tons and 418 feet oal (the old long hull FFG-7 Perrys were 4,200 tons and 453 feet oal) and are good for 28 knot bursts on a CODAG powerplant. Of course, they are not frigate armed, with just a 57mm Bofors and Block 1B CIWS, as well as some 25mm Mk 38s and .50 cals, but they have weight and space reserved for additional weapons and sensors as well as all the “soft kill” stuff you’d expect from a frigate such as SLQ-32, SRBOC, and Nukla.

The USCG has 10 NSCs with an 11th (the would-be USCGC Friedman) canceled in June, and Long Lead Time Materials funded as an option for a 12th hull– both of which the service could actually use, especially in Alaska. That kinda qualifies as having a “hot” line.

Ingalls has seriously shopped a few different National Security Cutter patrol frigate (FF) variants over the years, with the most aggressive of these being the FF4923.

This FF4923 would be 4,675 tons, have two STIIR 2.4 FC radars, a Captas VDS towed sonar, a KINGKLIP sonar, space for two, maybe four anti-ship missile box launchers, Mk 32 ASW torpedo tubes, a C-RAM rather than CIWS, and 16 MK41 VLS cells. However, it looks like those cells would be limited to tactical-length (no Tomahawk or SM-3) loads.

The model is shown with a 76mm gun, which I like (would prefer a 5 incher), but the NSC sports a 57mm Mk 110 (along the lines of the Connies and the LCSs, as well as the USCG’s 25~ planned Heritage/Argus-class Offshore Patrol Cutters), so let’s be honest, that is what a frigate-ized NSC in U.S. service would carry. This might allow a 32-cell VLS to be shoehorned into the design, which is the same as Connie. If not, the FF4923 would be limited to just 16 SAMs if using SM-2s (with a 90nm published range), or 64 shorter-ranged (27nm) but quad-packed ESSMs, less if ASROC is carried (e.g., maybe 4 SM-2s, 4 VLAs, and 32 ESSMs).

Sure, it is not perfect, but it is a better plan than not having a frigate at all, which is what we are doing now.

Plus, if the FF4923 was greenlit and other yards (Bath and Austal, for instance) got into the build-out, the prospect that the canceled 11th and 12th NSCs could get built is high– which could help the Coast Guard with its delayed Offshore Patrol Cutter program.

Speaking of the struggling OPCs, these 4,500-ton 360-foot OPVs are a bit slow (22 knots) to be thought of as a proper FF but do have a long (10,200nm) range, MH-60 helicopter and small boat facilities, as well as the same soft and hard kill batteries as the larger NSC (sans CIWS), or the LCS classes for that matter, with little weight and space reseved for anything heavier, so they are more of a dark horse candidate for a new frigate design.

“With a range of 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots and a 60-day endurance period, each OPC will be capable of deploying independently or as part of task groups, serving as a mobile command and control platform for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass migration incidents, and other events. The cutters will also support Arctic objectives by helping regulate and protect emerging commerce and energy exploration in Alaska.”

Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC)/Maritime Security Cutter (MSC)

But at least their line is hot, with the Coast Guard just authenticating the keel for the future USCGC Pickering (WMSM-919) during a ceremony Monday at Austal in Mobile.

Again, better than what the Navy has now, I guess.

Ship sponsor Dr. Meghan Pickering Seymour, fifth-generation granddaughter to Col. Timothy Pickering, and Ravi Khamsourin, Austal USA advanced welder, tig-welded her initials during a keel laying ceremony in Mobile, Alabama, Dec. 8, 2025. The Coast Guard Cutter Pickering (OPC 5) is named for the first USCGC Pickering that launched in 1798. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Grace McBryde)

Coasties Seek More Cutters for the Pacific, Slate a 270 for Transfer

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The USCG has been steadily ramping up in the Central and Western Pacific in the past couple of years, as we’ve covered extensively. In short, you are seeing more racing stripes in more places as part of a soft power counter to China’s little blue men and their own white-hulled coastal types.

The Coast Guard’s Fourteenth District, which stretches from Hawaii to Singapore and Japan (where small cargo inspection units, USCG Activities Far East/Marine Inspection Office Asia, are assigned), currently numbers some 1,800 active reserves all told including about 300 on Guam.

The largest assets currently on hand in Hawaii are the new frigate-sized National Security Cutters USCGC Kimball (WMSL 756) and USCGC Midgett (WMSL 757)— which have frequently bumped into Chinese assets. Added to this are a pair of 225-foot buoy tenders– USCGC Juniper (WLB 201) and USCGC Sequoia (WLB-215)— which are more useful than they sound, especially when it comes to littoral and unorthodox operations.

Meanwhile, CG Air Station Barbers Point, with 200 officers and enlisted personnel, has four new HC-130J Long Range Surveillance Aircraft and three recently rebuilt MH-65E Dolphins.

Three new 158-foot fast-response cutters were sent to the Guam sector in 2021 and another trio of these excellent patrol craft is already in Hawaii.

How about that blended blue and green crew? “The crew of the Sentinel-class fast response cutter USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) takes a moment for a photo in Cairns, Australia, Sept. 5, 2022. The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting a routine deployment in Oceania as part of Operation Blue Pacific, working alongside Allies, building maritime domain awareness, and sharing best practices with partner nation navies and coast guards. Op Blue Pacific is an overarching multi-mission U.S. Coast Guard endeavor promoting security, safety, sovereignty, and economic prosperity in Oceania while strengthening relationships with our regional partners. (U.S. Coast Guard photo Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Ray Blas)

Now, the USCG is seeking $400 million in FY2024 for an additional quartet of new-built FRCs for Indo-Pacific Missions. That would give the service a full 10 FRCs based from Hawaii west in addition to its four larger cutters.

In the meantime, the service is transferring a 270-foot Bear-class cutter, USCG Cutter Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) from Portsmouth, Virginia to Hawaii. Designed in the 1980s as ocean escorts in time of Red Storm Rising style convoy runs to Europe in WWIII, the Coast Guard only built 13 and they are all on the East Coast– with nine based at Portsmouth alone.

Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane fired a commemorative shot Thursday to honor the 158th anniversary of its namesake’s action near Fort Sumter

Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane fired a commemorative shot Thursday to honor the 158th anniversary of its namesake’s action near Fort Sumter, 30 May 2019 (USCG Photo)

Until the new Offshore Patrol Cutter joins the fleet in the next few years, the Bears are the most modern and advanced medium endurance cutters in the force with the most modern weapons and sensor suite. They are the last American asset with the Mark 75 OTO Melera and have some M2 .50 cals to back that popgun up, but they also carry an SLQ-32 and SRBOC and can host an HH-60-sized helicopter.

Lane’s arrival early in FY 2024, will give the USCG 11 cutters in the Indo-Pacific, which could grow to 15 if the four extra FRCs are approved.

Blue water sailor…

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“If you’re not shippin’ green you don’t deserve sea pay…”

This was recently posted on the social media page maintained by the frigate-sized Legend-class National Security Cutter USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752). Stationed at Alameda, California, and assigned to the Coast Guard Pacific Area, she is currently on a Bering Sea patrol.

On the way to the Arctic, CGC Stratton transited north through some heavy seas off the Pacific Northwest. At times, the sea spray reached as high as CGC Stratton’s mast, which is nearly 150 feet tall.

Built at Pascagoula alongside Burke-class DDGs like all her sisters, Stratton joined the fleet in 2012.

Importantly, Ingalls is getting close to the end of the road with the class, as the future USCGC Calhoun (WMSL-759), NSC 10, just recently christened and is expected to commission later this year.

The final ship, USCGC Friedman (WMSL-760) would end the nominal 11 ship class although some Long Lead Time Materials funds for a 12th hull have been allocated. As the class was ordered to replace the 12-vessel Hamilton-class cutters built in the 1960s, it would only seem correct to run the full dozen. 

A Meeting of Racing Stripes

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The U.S. Coast Guard has been making great use of its large frigate-sized Berthoff-class national security cutters, showing them off in the past couple of years as true worldwide deployable assets. This has included several Westpac cruises and Fourth Fleet missions, and, as witnessed by the arrival of USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753) at her homeport Wednesday following a 94-day deployment as part of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, even Europe.

While some would grouse that it is out of step for the “Coast” Guard to deploy overseas under the Navy’s control in peacetime, it helps build those national defense/intelligence skills needed should they ever have to do it for real– of note, Hamilton exercised with the Gerald Ford carrier group while the new carrier made its first “warm” deployment— but also allows an easier mesh with allied littoral coast guard types than the Navy would be able to pull off with a 9,000-ton DDG.

Plus, things like migrant interdiction and fisheries enforcement missions aren’t really in Big Navy’s wheelhouse.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Arthur Flaherty, a boatswain’s mate assigned to the USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753), prepares to transfer Hamilton crewmembers onto the Swedish Coast Guard vessel Amfitrite in the Baltic Sea, Oct. 31, 2022. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alejandro Rivera)

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Denzel Canty and Petty Officer 3rd Class Drew Freiheit, maritime enforcement specialists assigned to USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753), conduct a tactical exercise with members of the Finnish Border Guard’s Special Intervention Unit while underway in the Baltic Sea, Nov. 3, 2022. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alejandro Rivera)

As noted by USCG Atlantic Area:

Hamilton began its deployment with a transatlantic voyage to Rota, Spain, and met with operational commanders from U.S. Sixth Fleet. After Spain, the cutter transited through the English Channel and Danish Straits, two vitally significant waterways that provide safe passage for 15% of the world’s shipping.

Immediately upon entering the Baltic Sea region, Hamilton conducted at-sea exchanges with naval, coast guard and border guard forces of multiple Baltic Sea allies and partners, including Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Each engagement was oriented to support either traditional Coast Guard missions or in combination with defense readiness exercises used to enhance interoperability between the U.S. and NATO partners.

As the first U.S. military vessel to visit Turku, Finland in over a decade, Hamilton hosted public tours of the cutter and held a reception for U.S. and Finnish government and military leaders. Guests included the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland, the deputy chief of the Finnish Border Guard, the state secretary of the Ministry of Interior, and the mayor of Turku. The visit also served to reinforce the long-standing partnership between the Finnish Border Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Additionally, Hamilton is the first U.S. Coast Guard cutter to visit Riga, Latvia in more than 20 years. The crew met with the U.S. Ambassador to Latvia and hosted a reception on board Hamilton for members of Latvia’s navy and coast guard to include the Latvian navy’s chief of staff and the commander of the Latvian coast guard. Hamilton also served as a backdrop to Latvia’s 104th Freedom Day celebration alongside NATO forces.

Coast Guard Keeps tabs on China in Aleutians, Maldives, and West Pac

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The Coast Guard, flush with capable new vessels, has been steadily stretching its legs as of late, taking up the Navy’s slack a bit, and waving the flag increasingly in overseas locations. This new trend makes sense as, besides the formal People’s Liberation Army Navy, the growing (200 white hulled cutters) China Coast Guard and People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (4,600 blue hulled trawlers) are everywhere.

Case in point, this week the USCG’s 17th District, which covers Alaska, announced the USCGC Kimball (WMSL-756), while on a routine patrol in the Bering Sea, encountered the 13,000-ton Chinese Type 055 “destroyer” (NATO/OSD Renhai-class cruiser) Renhai (CG 101), sailing approximately 75 nautical miles north of Kiska Island. A state-of-the-art vessel comparable to a Ticonderoga-class cruiser but larger, Renhai has a 112-cell VLS system as well as two helicopters and a 130mm naval gun. Compare this to Kimball’s single 57mm MK110 and CIWS, and you see the disparity.

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

Kimball also noted other ships as well.

Via 17th District:

The Kimball crew later identified two more Chinese naval vessels and four Russian naval vessels, including a Russian Federation Navy destroyer, all in a single formation with the Renhai as a combined surface action group operating in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

As a result, the Kimball crew is now operating under Operation Frontier Sentinel, a Seventeenth Coast Guard District 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. While the surface action group was temporary in nature, and Kimball observed it disperse, the Kimball will continue to monitor activities in the U.S. EEZ to ensure the safety of U.S. vessels and international commerce in the area. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak C-130 Hercules aircrew provided support to the Kimball’s Operation Frontier Sentinel activities.

This is not the first time Coast Guard cutters deployed to the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean encountered Chinese naval vessels inside the U.S. EEZ/MARDEZ. Last August, Kimball and her sister Berthoff kept tabs on a surface action group– a guided missile cruiser, a guided missile destroyer, a general intelligence vessel, and an auxiliary vessel– transiting within 46 miles of the Aleutians.

Meanwhile, in the Maldives

Kimball’s sister, the Hawaii-based USCGC Midgett (WMSL 757) and crew, on a Westpac patrol under the tactical control of 7th Fleet, arrived in the Maldives last week, the first Coast Guard ship to visit the 1,200-island Indian Ocean country since USCGC Boutwell in 2009.

The class of large (418-foot/4,500-ton) frigate-sized cutters have done numerous Westpac cruises in the past few years. Since 2019, the cutters Bertholf (WMSL 750), Stratton (WMSL 752), Waesche (WMSL 751), and Munro (WMSL 755) have deployed to the Western Pacific.

Micronesia and the Solomans

Capping off a six-week extended patrol across Oceania, the 154-foot Webber/Sentinel-class fast response cutter USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) arrived back at homeport in Guam on 19 September.

The 20-member crew, augmented by two Guam-based shoreside Coasties (a YN2 and an MK2) two Navy rates (an HS2 and HM3), and a Marine Korean linguist, conducted training, fisheries observations, community and key leader engagements, and a multilateral sail.

How about that blended blue and green crew? “The crew of the Sentinel-class fast response cutter USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) takes a moment for a photo in Cairns, Australia, Sept. 5, 2022. The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting a routine deployment in Oceania as part of Operation Blue Pacific, working alongside Allies, building maritime domain awareness, and sharing best practices with partner nation navies and coast guards. Op Blue Pacific is an overarching multi-mission U.S. Coast Guard endeavor promoting security, safety, sovereignty, and economic prosperity in Oceania while strengthening relationships with our regional partners.” (U.S. Coast Guard photo Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Ray Blas)

They covered more than 8,000 nautical miles from Guam to Cairns, Queensland, Australia, and returned with several stops in Papua New Guinea and one in the Federated States of Micronesia. They also operated with HMS Spey, the first Royal Navy warship to be forward deployed to the Pacific since Hong Kong went back to China.

The two ships were also– and this is key– refused a port visit in the Solomans which is now under a treaty with China that allows PLAN ships to refuel in Honiara. The local government there later clarified that not all foreign military ships were off limits to their ports, as Australia and New Zealand will be exempt (both countries have significant economic ties with the island nation) but it is still a bad look. Of irony, Spey and Oliver Henry were conducting an Operation Island Chief mission in the region, policing illegal fishing of the kind China is noted for.

The Coast Guard currently has three new FRCs in Guam including Henry, Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139), and Frederick Hatch (1143), giving them options in the Westpac.

Bring back the Garcias!

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One big result from the end of the Cold War in 1989ish and the subsequent onset of the “peace dividend” in the early 1990s was that the near-600 ship U.S. Navy was drastically drawn down. While the carriers, dropping from 15 to 10, and the mothballing then disposal of the four Iowa class battleships got the most attention, it should also be remembered that via the “Great Cruiser Slaughter” and the untimely demise of the Sprucans saw 57 cruisers and destroyers vanish from the Navy List followed by the 23 Adams-class (all decommissioned in just a 33-month period) and 4 Kidd-class DDGs, and the 40 Knox-class fast frigates which killed off the tin cans.

But one interesting class I am here to bemoan is the loss of the Garcias, the 10-pack of fast frigates that preceded the Knoxes.

Garcia class frigate USS Voge (FF-1047) underway as part of Task Group 24.2 with the carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) battle group, 12 Aug 1988 just a year before she was retired. Note the two 5-inch mounts, the ASROC launcher, and a good bit of open deck space. DOD 330-CFD-DN-ST-89-01279, National Archives Identifier:6442941

Built in the 1960s as some of the last of the destroyer escorts, they were kind of easy to forget. Just 414 feet overall with a 2,600-ton displacement, they used a simple steam plant of two boilers feeding a single steam turbine and a centerline screw, giving them a top speed of 27 knots but the ability to cruise at 20 for 4,000nm– making them perfect for wartime cross-Atlantic convoy escort.

USS Garcia (DE-1040, later FF-1040) underway, in August 1972. NHHC K-95195

The significant size of the sonar dome can be seen from this image of Voge in dry-dock.

They had a decent ASW fit including a bow-mounted sonar, a platform for an SH-2 Seaprite, both Mk32 (side-launched) and Mk25 (stern launched) torpedo tubes, and an 8-cell ASROC “Matchbox” launcher with eight reloads. For surface action, they had a pair of WWII/Korean War throwback 5″/38s in Mk 30 mounts as well as the possibility to use Harpoons in the ASROC launcher.

While they were dead meat against an incoming airstrike, at least one ship, USS Bradley (DE-1041), had a RIM-7 Sea Sparrow BPDMS installed while keeping the rest of the armament fit. All this with a 250-man crew. Indeed, the first six FFGs (originally DEGs), the Brooke class, were essentially just Garcias that had been equipped with an Mk-22 “one-armed bandit” launcher amidships with a 16-slot magazine. 

Garcia class frigate by Christian Capurro

USS Brooke, seen here in Florida waters, was the first of a half-dozen Brooke class-guided missile frigates (FFG 1-6). They were designated as they were fitted with the Mk 22 missile launcher for the Standard anti-aircraft missile, located on top of the superstructure amidships. in place of the 5″/38 Mk30 mount and magazine

Garcia 2022

Imagine for a moment that an updated Garcia were to be fielded today.

The same-sized hull is already made in America, the Legend/Berthoff-class national security cutter (NSC).

Built at Pascagoula, the 4,500-ton Stratton is the USCG’s the third Legend-class National Security Cutter

The centerpiece of the Coast Guard’s fleet (which runs 418 feet oal and weighs in at 4,500 tons) the NSC has a CODAG engineering suite of MTU 20V 1163 diesels and a single LM2500 gas turbine that is capable of “over 28 knots” with a 12,000nm cruising range while needing fewer sailors to keep it running than a Garcia of old. Add a modern MK45 5″/62 up front, shoehorn a second 5-incher amidships– the mounts weigh almost the same as the old Mk 30s on the Garcias while having a much more capable gun. Insert an 8-cell of strike length VLS for VLA-ASROC, another 8-cell short VLS for quad-packed Enhanced Sea Sparrows for air defense, and swap out the NSC’s current CIWS for a 21-cell RAM launcher. The NSC already has a sonar fit, which could be expanded, as well as a huge (for its size) hangar and stern pad. Instead of the stern-launched 31-foot cutter boat, install a towed sonar array and an eight-pack of Naval Strike Missiles similar to the stern Harpoon cans seen on the Ticonderogas.

They would be a great “low” part of a “high/low” frigate mix when balanced against the building Constellation-class FFGs.

While the Constellations are direly needed, there is still a huge gap left in the FF arena that was created when the Knoxes and Garcias left. Further, once the 21 remaining Ticos are retired, that is a further 42 5-inch guns that will disappear from the fleet without any real replacement (the Constellation has a 57mm gun while the Burkes aren’t realistically going to get close enough to shore for NGFS any more than the Ticos would have.)

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

NSCs have an estimated average procurement cost of about $950 million per ship as it is, and you could imagine a 20 percent increase with the redesign and new weapon fit, putting such a program in the range of about $1.3B per hull, which is about the same as the larger Constellations. However, you get two 5-inch guns and a focus on killing subs whereas the multi-mission nature of the Constellations means they will be much like the old Perry-class FFGs they replaced and lean towards a more anti-air frigate concept– and will take several years to get in the water and the bugs worked out.

Contrast this with the fact that the NSCs have been under construction for 15 years and Ingalls has kind of gotten it figured out, plus, they have used the hull for a series of proposed LCS and Patrol Frigate designs they have pitched around the world, so they likely already have a lot of the backend design work brainstormed for an up-armed NSC already.

Ingalls Shipbuilding Sea Control Frigate based on National security cutter

Ingalls Shipbuilding Sea Control Frigate based on National security cutter

A 20-30 ship class of “Garcia’d” NSCs in haze gray, matching the Constellations hull-for-hull, would go a long way towards making the Navy whole, and would be an easy export option for allies seeking a similar ASW/AShW optimized fast frigate. 

Just saying.

RIMPAC Review (and Coasties, too)

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The 28th biennial RIMPAC, the world’s largest maritime warfare exercise, wrapped up last Friday. In all, some 26 nations sent 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft, more than 30 unmanned systems, and 25,000 personnel to take part in the six-week exercise that stretched across the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.

We’ve detailed some of the interesting ships already, but be sure to check out this great PHOTOEX of the combined fleet steaming in perfect formation in bright daylight.

Batteries released

There were two SINKEXs, the first of which was the recently-retired OHP-class frigate ex-USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60) sent to the bottom in waters more than 15,000 feet deep and over 50 nautical miles North of Kauai. From the sea, U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Chaffee (DDG 90) shot her Mark 45 5-inch gun. Units from Australia, Canada, Malaysia, and the U.S. participated in the sinking exercise “to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting, and live firing against a surface target at sea.”

The second of which was the old gator ex-USS Denver (LPD 9), sent down almost on top of Davis. From the land, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force and U.S. Army shot Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles and practice rockets. From the air, U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets assigned to Fighter Attack Squadron 41 shot a long-range anti-ship missile. U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopters shot air-to-ground Hellfire missiles, rockets, and 30mm guns. U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C/D Hornets assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, Marine Air-Ground Task Force 7, fired an air-launched cruise missile, air-to-surface anti-radiation missiles, an air-to-ground anti-radiation missile, and joint direct attack munitions.

Coasties for the layup

Of note, the Coast Guard, stretching its legs via the service’s new and long-ranging frigate-sized (4,600t, 418-feet oal) Ingalls-built Legend-class national security cutters, contributing to the largest Coast Guard participation in the history of RIMPAC. This included the NSC cutter Midgett (WMSL-757) and the new 154-foot Fast Response Cutter William Hart (WPC 1134), the Pacific Dive Locker (who took part in port clearance operations with members of the ROK Navy), and Maritime Safety and Security Team Honolulu (who did survey work in the port in support of clearing).

Importantly, although her largest currently embarked weapon is a 57mm Bofors, Midgett has long-range sensors (a 3D TRS-16 AN/SPS-75 air search radar with an instrumented range of up to 250 km plus a AN/SPS-79 surface search set) and logged “at least nine constructive kills” during RIMPAC’s war at sea phase of RIMPAC, feeding targeting information to other assets via Link 16, an underrated force multiplier.

Midgett also embarked Navy MH-60Rs off and on during the exercise, something you can be sure of seeing during a real live shooting war. This is reportedly the first time the platform has operated from a cutter during RIMPAC

The Marines at Schofield Barracks have used FRCs in the past to set up commo nodes afloat, a task that it is super easy to imagine these shallow draft littoral vessels performing in time of crisis around scattered West Pac atolls. This worked with a mesh between the USCG’s Rescue 21 C4ISR system and an embarked Marine SATCOM team.
 
Marines and the @U.S. Coast Guard establish communications aboard USCGC William Hart (WPC 1134) during Large Scale Exercise 2021, at U.S. Coast Guard Base Honolulu. LSE 2021 is a live, virtual, and constructive exercise employing integrated command and control, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and sensors across the joint force to expand battlefield awareness, share targeting data, and conduct long-range precision strikes in support of naval operations in a contested and distributed maritime environment. 

Getting your lean on

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Born in Pascagoula, the class leader of the 418-foot Legend-class National Security Cutters, USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750), joined the fleet in 2008 and since then, nine of the ships have replaced the circa 1960s 378-foot Hamilton-class high endurance cutters in the Coast Guard’s inventory. The service uses these light frigate-sized vessels in overseas deployments to the Med and West Pac, as well as in patrols of the North Pac– monitoring 900,000 square miles of the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the Alaskan coast– which can be demanding.

Thus from Betholf’s social media page:

Bertholf made it safely to Kodiak, AK last week. During our transit, we encountered 15ft seas, 50kt winds, and 35-degree rolls.

Last September, Berthof and her sistership and Kimball (WMSL-756) kept tabs on a four-ship task force from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) operating as close as 46 miles off the Aleutian Island coast.

In other National Security Cutter news, shipbuilders at Ingalls just completed the longest translation on record for the shipyard with future USCGC Calhoun (WMSL 759) before officially launching the ship into the water in Pascagoula.

In November of 2020, the ninth NSC, Stone (WMSL 758)— named after the service’s famed first aviator— was delivered to the Coast Guard and proceeded to conduct an unprecedented 68-day shakedown patrol, which resulted in a drug bust within two weeks of sail away and an extensive illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing enforcement patrol off the coast of South America.

Calhoun, the 10th NSC, is scheduled to be christened at Ingalls Shipbuilding in June 2022 and is expected to be delivered in early 2023.

The 11th, and planned final (unless the USCG gets more money), NSC, USCGC Friedman (WMSL-760), will be delivered around 2024.

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