USCGC Bertholf, the first National Security Cutter | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Builders | Ingalls Shipbuilding |
Preceded by | Hamilton class |
Cost | $670m(average), $735m(FY13 ship) [1] |
In commission | 2008–present |
Planned | 11 [2] (Option for 12th) [3] [4] |
Building | 1 [5] [3] |
Completed | 10 [6] [3] |
Active | 10 [5] |
General characteristics | |
Type | United States Coast Guard Cutter / Large patrol vessel |
Displacement | 4,600 long tons (4,700 t) |
Length | 418 feet (127 m) |
Beam | 54 feet (16 m) |
Draft | 22.5 feet (6.9 m) |
Installed power | 3 × Caterpillar 3512B diesel generators |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | Over 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
Range | 12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) |
Endurance | 60–90-day cycles |
Complement | 113 (14 officers + 99 enlisted) and can carry up to 148 depending on mission [8] |
Sensors and processing systems |
|
Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
Armament |
|
Armor | Ballistic protection for main gun |
Aircraft carried | 1 × MH-65C Dolphin MCH and 2 × sUAS [11] |
Aviation facilities | 50-by-80-foot (15 m × 24 m) flight deck, hangar for all aircraft |
The Legend-class cutter, also known as the National Security Cutter (NSC) and Maritime Security Cutter, Large, is the largest active patrol cutter class of the United States Coast Guard, with the size of a frigate. Entering into service in 2008, the Legend class is the largest of several new cutter designs developed as part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program. [12]
These vessels can be used for a variety of tasks, including environmental protection, search and rescue, fisheries protection, ports, waterways, and coastal security, counterterrorism activities, law enforcement, drug interdiction, defense operations, and other military operations, including assigned naval warfare tasks with the U.S. Navy. [13] [14] [15]
The Legend-class cutters are the second-longest of all U.S. Coast Guard cutters, behind the research icebreaker Healy, and replaced the 12 Hamilton-class cutters in service. [16] These cutters are envisioned by the Coast Guard as being able to undertake the entire range of the high-endurance cutter roles, with additional upgrades to make it more of an asset to the Department of Defense during declared national emergency contingencies. [17] To facilitate intercept missions, the Legend class can carry and launch the Short Range Prosecutor and the Long Range Interceptor rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs). The cutters are configured to survive in low-threat environments, such as an enemy having a poorly equipped military, some coastal patrol craft, and few to no anti-ship cruise missiles. [18]
Operations in this environment can be general defense operations, including theater security, port protection, ship escort, anti-piracy, and maritime interception operations. The cutters can survive in medium-threat environments, which can include a fairly well equipped military of ships and aircraft with weapons and radar coverage well offshore, higher numbers of anti-ship cruise missiles, and a possible submarine threat. Operations in this threat environment could include defense operations, naval surface fire support, and the evacuation of noncombatants. The cutters are not expected to survive in a high-threat environment with their current configuration. [19]
The cutter has a rear-launching ramp, capable of launching and retrieving the two aft-stored RHIBs while underway. [20] [21] The NSC is built to about 90% military standards. [22] The NSC has a steel hull and steel superstructure with steel bulkheads. Ballistic protection is provided for the main gun. The cutter's crew-served weapons can have steel ballistic shields attached for protection. [23] [24] The NSC is equipped with a state-of-the-art damage-control system, that contributes to the ship's survivability. [25]
The NSC is designed to U.S. Navy damage stability criteria and to level-1 survivability standards. [26] Most of the NSC design is compatible with ABS naval vessel rules. [27] The NSC has a degaussing capability. [28] The cutters have a reduced radar cross-section, which gives the cutters a higher degree of stealth over the past cutters. [29] The NSC uses a modified version of the same stealthy mast design as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. [30]
Legend-class cutters have increased data exchange bandwidth. [31] The Hensoldt, formerly EADS North America, TRS-3D radar system provides three-dimensional air and surface search functions, and is used in the LCS program and as the German Korvette 130 program. [32] The cutters are equipped with the AN/SLQ-32(V)2 electronic warfare system, used in the DDG-51 class. [33] The cutters AN/SLQ-32B(V)2 system is to be upgraded under the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP). [34]
The Legend class is equipped with the same 220 rpm Bofors 57 mm gun as mounted on the U.S. Navy's littoral combat ships and Constellation-class frigates. [35] [36] Guided 57 mm ammunition is being developed for the Mk 110 for the Navy and Coast Guard, including for use on the National Security cutters. [37] The missile defense duties are handled by the Mk 53 Nulka decoy systems, the Mk 36 SRBOC countermeasure systems also used on the FFG-7 and CG-47 programs, and the Phalanx CIWS. [38] The combination of the Mk 110 and the Phalanx gives the cutters anti-surface capability, limited air-defense capability, and the capability to provide naval gunfire support. [39]
The cutters have space, weight, and power reserved for additional weapons and systems, which includes mine-warfare systems, non-line-of-sight missiles, and can have a SeaRAM replace the 20 mm Phalanx CIWS. [40] [27] The NSC is capable of carrying a sonar ,that is reported as having mine and underwater swimmer location ability. [41] The NSC has an NBC detection and defense system to repel chemical, biological, or radiological attacks and has wash-down systems. [42] The cutter's weapons, command and control suite can be upgraded and is hardened to survive potential attacks and process increased data flow. [31]
The first NSC, USCGC Bertholf, entered sea trials in February 2008. [43] She has been in service since August 2008, and is based at Coast Guard Island, Alameda, California. A second NSC, Waesche, was based in Alameda in 2010. [44] Construction of Stratton, which now carries a crew of 123, began in 2008 at Huntington Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula. The vessel was christened by first lady Michelle Obama in July 2010, and delivered to the Coast Guard in September 2011. [45] She is now in service in Alameda. Construction on the fourth NSC, Hamilton, began in 2011. She was delivered to the Coast Guard in September 2014.
In December 2009, a fleet mix analysis phase study called for nine NSCs. [46] Eight ships are in the Program of Record. Seven hulls were funded as of the FY2013-2017 capital investment plan. [1] The NSCs proved their capability to perform naval operations during the 2012 RIMPAC exercises, where the Bertholf detected and tracked missile threats and provided naval gunfire support for troops ashore during the training exercise, demonstrating the capability of moving with other naval forces and being able to perform other defense operations. [47]
In July 2009, the Government Accountability Office reported that delays in the NSC program are likely to result in "the loss of thousands of cutter operational days for conducting missions through 2017." [48] The GAO also reported that month that problems in the NSC program had delayed the OPC program by five years. [49] The program was also plagued by structural issues. The Coast Guard historically uses its cutters extensively, typically 180 days at sea a year. Operations in North Pacific and North Atlantic waters are some of the roughest seas in the Northern Hemisphere. Stresses on the cutters are expected to be very severe. Structural analysis showed that some parts of the cutter could be expected to survive only 3 years. This was addressed in cutter 752 onwards, with the first two cutters receiving reinforcements. [50]
WMSL-752, the Stratton, suffered corrosion and leaks within weeks of commissioning in 2012. Earlier ships have not had that problem, so it may be the result of the cathodic protection system being hooked up in reverse. The first NSC, the Bertholf, has had structural enhancements put into place to fix reports of fatigue life issues. The second NSC, Waesche, had structural enhancement work completed in September 2018. The cutter Stratton and all subsequent NSCs have the enhancements already installed. [51] [52] The NSC program originally encountered problems meeting TEMPEST requirements. After more recent testing, the first NSC, Bertholf, passed all TEMPEST requirements. [53] [54]
The delays and problems led to cost increases. The 2014 USCG estimate for eight ships is $5.474 billion, for an average unit cost of $684 million. [1] The first six hulls cost $3.902 billion, for an average of $650 million per ship. [1] The sixth NSC cost $735 million in FY2012-13. [1] In the FY18 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill in November 2017, funding for the 10th NSC at a cost of $540 million and long lead items for the 11th NSC was proposed. [55] The FY2018 Omnibus Appropriations Bill includes $1.24 billion in funding for the NSC program. [56] The bill contained funding for the construction of the 10th National Security Cutter (NSC), long-lead-time materials for the 11th NSC, and construction of the 11th NSC. [2]
The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2020 makes available $100.5 million for long lead-time material for a 12th cutter. [57] [58] In March 2023, the Coast Guard's proposed FY2024 budget requested $17.1 million in procurement funding for the NSC program for post-delivery activities for the 10th and 11th NSCs, class-wide activities that included test and evaluation, and program close-out support, thereby suggesting it is not pursuing the option of a 12th cutter. [59]
In January 2018, a whistleblower lawsuit against Lockheed Martin was unsealed, alleging that the company had sold defective communications systems to the NSC program. The qui tam lawsuit, filed by a former Lockheed employee, said Lockheed had concealed known problems with the radio-frequency distribution systems installed on nine NSCs, preventing them from simultaneously transmitting and receiving multiple radio signals. To settle the lawsuit, Lockheed agreed to pay the federal government $2.2 million, and to provide repairs valued at $2.2 million to the faulty systems. [60] [61]
Huntington Ingalls Industries has proposed two "patrol frigates" for Navy use, based on the NSC hull.
Patrol Frigate 4501 is very similar to the NSC, the main differences being a modified stern ramp [62] and a knuckle boom crane replacing the overhead crane. [63] The crew is increased to 148. [62] It was offered to the U.S. Navy as a replacement for the Littoral Combat Ship. [63] The FY13 cost of an LCS was $446.3 million compared to $735 million for an NSC. [64]
Patrol Frigate 4921 is a more radical redesign. It has a crew of 141. [62] Weapons and sensors are added at the expense of reducing range from 12,000 to 8,000 nautical miles (22,000 to 15,000 km). [63] It adds a 12-cell Mk 56 VLS launcher for ESSM air-defense missiles, just behind the main gun, which is upgraded from 57 mm to a 76 mm Super Rapid. [62] Two quad launchers for Harpoon anti-ship missiles and a triple launcher for torpedoes are added to the stern. [63]
It retains the SeaRAM/Phalanx CIWS and 6 machine guns of other NSC variants. [62] The stern is closed in and houses a towed-array sonar. [63] A hull sonar is installed for mine countermeasures and an ESM suite. [63] The original "National Patrol Frigate" concept had an AN/SPY-1F air-defense radar. [65] By 2012 the PF 4921 was being shown with an Australian CEAFAR radar. [62]
Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Germany have shown interest in NSC derivatives. [62]
Ship | Hull Number | Builder | Namesake | Steel Cut | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Homeport | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bertholf | WMSL-750 | Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula | Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf | March 29, 2005 | September 29, 2006 | August 4, 2008 | Alameda, CA | Active in service | |
Waesche | WMSL-751 | Admiral Russell R. Waesche | September 11, 2006 | July 12, 2008 | May 7, 2010 | Alameda, CA | Active in service | ||
Stratton [66] | WMSL-752 | Captain Dorothy C. Stratton | July 20, 2009 | July 23, 2010 | March 31, 2012 | Alameda, CA | Active in service | ||
Hamilton [66] [67] | WMSL-753 | Secretary Alexander Hamilton | September 5, 2012 | August 10, 2013 | December 6, 2014 | Charleston, SC | Active in service | ||
James [68] | WMSL-754 | Captain Joshua James | May 17, 2013 | May 3, 2014 | August 8, 2015 | Charleston, SC | Active in service | ||
Munro [66] | WMSL-755 | Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro | November 5, 2014 | September 12, 2015 | April 1, 2017 | Alameda, CA | Active in service | ||
Kimball [66] | WMSL-756 | Sumner I. Kimball | March 4, 2016 | December 17, 2016 | August 24, 2019 | Honolulu, HI | Active in service | ||
Midgett [66] | WMSL-757 | Midgett Family [69] | January 30, 2017 | November 22, 2017 | August 24, 2019 | Honolulu, HI | Active in service | ||
Stone [70] | WMSL-758 | Commander Elmer F. Stone | September 14, 2018 | October 4, 2019 | March 19, 2021 | Charleston, SC | Active in service | ||
Calhoun [71] | WMSL-759 | Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles L. Calhoun | 2019 Nov 12 [72] | July 23, 2021 [73] | April 3, 2022 | April 20, 2024 | Charleston, SC | Active in Service | |
Friedman [74] | WMSL-760 | Elizebeth Smith Friedman | Charleston, SC | Under construction [2] [75] | |||||
Unnamed | WMSL- 761 | Long Lead Time Materials (LLTM) funded as Option for 12th ship. [3] LLTM contract not yet awarded. [4] $300,000,000 is authorized for a twelfth National Security Cutter. [76] USCG has not exercised option, as of March 2023. [59] |
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the United States military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its duties. It is the largest coast guard in the world, rivaling the capabilities and size of most navies.
The Island-class patrol boat is a class of cutters of the United States Coast Guard. 49 cutters of the class were built, of which 3 remain in commission. Their hull numbers are WPB-1301 through WPB-1349.
The Long Range Interceptor (LRI) is an 11-meter high speed launch vessel designed to be deployed from United States Coast Guard cutters via a rear launching ramp. The Long Range Interceptor is an aluminum boat, powered by Ultrajet brand water-jets, for intercepting and boarding suspect vessels. It mounts a radar, special shock-proof seats, and can travel at 35 knots (65 km/h). They can be armed with machine guns or grenade launchers, and can be equipped with ballistic panels for crew protection when required.
The USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC-722), was the eighth of twelve 378-foot dual-powered turbine/diesel Hamilton-class high endurance cutters (WHECs) built by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Coast Guard commissioned the Morgenthau on March 10, 1969. After 48 years of continuous service the U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the Morgenthau on April 18, 2017, and the ship was sold to Vietnam. On 27 May 2017 the Vietnam Coast Guard commissioned the former cutter as patrol ship CSB 8020.
The Sentinel-class cutter, also known as the Fast Response Cutter or FRC due to its program name, is part of the United States Coast Guard's Deepwater program. At 154 feet (46.8 m), it is similar to, but larger than, the 123-foot (37 m) lengthened 1980s-era Island-class patrol boats that it replaces. Up to 71 vessels are to be built by the Louisiana-based firm Bollinger Shipyards, using a design from the Netherlands-based Damen Group, with the Sentinel design based on the company's Damen Stan 4708 patrol vessel. The Department of Homeland Security's budget proposal to Congress, for the Coast Guard, for 2021, stated that, in addition to 58 vessels to serve the Continental US, they requested an additional six vessels for its portion of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia.
USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750) is the first Legend-class maritime security cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She is named for Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf, fourth commandant of both the Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard.
USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751) is the second Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard.
The Heritage-class cutter, also known as the Offshore Patrol Cutter and the Maritime Security Cutter, Medium, is a cutter class of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), developed as part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program and built by Eastern Shipbuilding and Austal USA. Construction of the first vessel in the class began in January 2019. As they are completed, it is expected that they will replace 270-foot (82 m) Famous- and 210-foot (64 m) Reliance-class Medium Endurance Cutters.
USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752) is the third Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard. It is the first "white hull" cutter named after a woman since the 1980s. Stratton is named for Coast Guard Captain Dorothy C. Stratton (1899–2006). Stratton served as director of the SPARS, the Coast Guard Women's Reserve during World War II.
The Integrated Deepwater System Program was the 25-year program to replace all or much of the United States Coast Guard's equipment, including aircraft, ships, and logistics and command and control systems. The $24 billion program, which began with a price tag of $17 billion, lost authorization in Fiscal Year 2012 and is officially defunct.
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 375 on the Fortune 500, was formed on 31 March 2011, as a divestiture from Northrop Grumman.
USCGC Hamilton (WMSL-753) is the fourth Legend-class cutter, also known as the National Security Cutter (NSC), of the United States Coast Guard. She is the fifth cutter named after Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, who was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and in that position requested the formation of the United States Coast Guard. The cutter's sponsor is Linda Kapral Papp, the wife of Coast Guard Commandant Robert J. Papp Jr.
USCGC James (WMSL-754) is the fifth Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard.
USCGC Munro (WMSL-755) is the sixth Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard. Munro is the second cutter named for Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro (1919–1942), the only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The US Navy destroyer escort USS Douglas A. Munro (DE-422) was also named for Munro.
USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757) is the eighth Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard and is stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. The cutter was constructed by Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding Division in Pascagoula Mississippi and delivered to the Coast Guard in April 2019. It is named in honor of all members of the Midgett family who have served in the U.S. Coast Guard, United States Life-Saving Service, and/or other predecessor life-saving services. Seven members of the Midgett family have been awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal including John Allen Midgett Jr. and Rasmus Midgett.
USCGC Stone (WMSL-758) is the ninth Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard and is expected to be stationed in Charleston, South Carolina.
USCGC Calhoun (WMSL-759) is the tenth Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She is the first ship to be named after 1st Master Chief Petty Officer Charles L. Calhoun.
USCGC Friedman (WMSL-760) is the eleventh Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She is the first ship to be named after Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the famous American cryptologist.
USCGC Argus (WMSM-915) is the lead ship of the Heritage-class cutters of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and a part of the OPC Ship Type. She is the second ship to be named after Argus Panoptes, the first being USRC Argus, a Revenue Cutter Service ship which was decommissioned and sold in 1804.
With much more room on the national security cutter it becomes a considerably more capable platform, because if needed, more sensors and weapons can be added.
is prepared to accomplish the assigned naval warfare tasks in concert with USN units
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)The Mk 110 weather shield provides environmental and ballistic protection for the gun system
That's not to say NSCs aren't highly survivable ships; they have a state-of-the-art damage-control system
The Maritime Security Capabilities allow cutter's weapons and command and control suite to be upgraded and hardened to better survive potential terrorist incidents and process increased data flow
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The first National Security Cutter, USCGC BERTHOLF, has passed all TEMPEST and information assurance requirements culminating in the authority to operate