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Guard Acquisition Directorate News

08 Jun 2023

America's Sea Services Building Large Fleet of Small Ships and Craft

U.S. Navy Sailors aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD-48), moor a landing craft, utility during amphibious operations, off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, in March 2023. (Photo: Christopher R. Lape / U.S. Marine Corps)

Not every vessel in the U.S. Navy is built for major combat operations on the high seas. There are large numbers of boats and service craft that provide essential services to the sea services, the nation and its partners.The U.S. Navy procures about 100 small boats per year. Some of these boats are based on commercial designs, procured to a Navy developed specification that tailors the requirements to the end user needs. They are procured and managed by two Naval Sea Systems Command program offices—PMS 300 and PMS 325.Compared to warships and auxiliaries…

29 Dec 2022

The More ‘Eyes On The Water’, The Better

An Ocean Aero Triton unmanned surface vessel operates alongside U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145) in the Arabian Gulf, November 29, during Digital Horizon 2022. (Credit: Brandon Murphy / U.S. Army)

Manama, Bahrain -- Advancing maritime domain awareness in the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) is a challenging task. Yet keeping the sea lanes open is critical for the region, for the U.S. and the world.U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) are all headquartered here in Bahrain, under the command of Vice Admiral Brad Cooper. U.S. Fifth Fleet oversees the operations for all U.S. naval forces in the Middle East.

01 Nov 2016

Incentivizing Spill Response Innovation

Researchers tackle the tough problems despite a lack of funding and official incentives to move forward. Progress, in particular for Arctic spill response equipment and techniques, is being made. Even in the messy but now seemingly distant wake of such environmental disasters such as the Exxon Valdez grounding and the Deepwater Horizon accident, domestic oil spill response requirements still provide little or no incentive for responders in the U.S. to develop and deploy new equipment. Elsewhere, other countries (especially Norway) have better options for testing and approving systems using an intentional spill. Here at home, this approach has been recommended especially for the Arctic by many stakeholders, to no apparent avail.

18 Mar 2014

USCG: The Fleet Faces Forward

USCG Cutter Sapelo and the Royal Netherlands Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel HNLMS Holland search Caribbean Sea waters for bales of contraband jettisoned by Dominican drug smugglers.

The numerous cutters and craft of the U.S. Coast Guard —from the sail training ship Eagle to the large oceangoing patrol ships; from polar icebrakers to small utility boats — form a formidable fleet to meet the many challenging assignments undertaken by the service. In 2014 the Coast Guard continues its recapitalization program with its National Security Cutter (NSC), Fast Response Cutter (FPC) and Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC). The service plans to procure 91 cutters (8 NSCs, 25 OPCs and 58 FRCs) to replace are 90 aging cutters and patrol boats. According to a Feb.

27 Feb 2014

On Patrol with the U.S. Coast Guard

Building programs continue, spanning the full range of missions, despite budget concerns. Amidst all the talk of Beltway budget cutbacks and sequestration, the U.S. Coast Guard is quietly investing approximately $30 billion in major acquisition projects to modernize its physical assets. The process of recapitalizing these older and difficult-to-maintain assets has never been an easy task, and the Coast Guard has seen its share of bumps along the way. For example, the initially messy Deepwater debacle initially kicked off what has evolved into today’s more successful recapitalization process, now run by the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate, which stood up in July 2007.

17 May 2013

Coast Guard Patrols with New RB-S II Vessel

Coast Guard Sector San Juan, Puerto Rico, tests out one of four new Response Boat-Small (RB-S) II, delivered April 8–11. The new RB-S II gives Coast Guard operators upgraded electronics and communications, improved crew comfort to reduce fatigue, and improved visibility. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Nicholas Schellman.

Most people who encounter the Coast Guard near shore will get a good look at a Response Boat-Small (RB-S). With more than 400 boats in operation, the RB-S is the largest vessel class in the Coast Guard’s fleet. The boats are in constant use, from life-saving to law enforcement and homeland security missions. But the redoubtable RB-S is approaching the end of its service life and the the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate has launched an ambitious project to replace this important asset. The RB-S II will be one of the largest boat buys of its kind.

13 Oct 2011

U.S. Coast Guard Recapitalization Briefing

Uncertainty over budget talks leaves Coast Guard leadership to hedge their bets on future fleet mix, total numbers of hulls and operational capabilities. On Wednesday, members of the media were invited to join Coast Guard senior leadership for a discussion about recent acquisition efforts and the status of recapitalizing the service’s aging fleet. The briefing, which took place at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, revealed little in terms of new developments but at the same time, underscored the increasing concerns amongst Coast Guard senior leaders that budget woes may soon force a scaling back of one or more aspects of their ambitious, multi-billion dollar recapitalization plans. The briefing coincided conspicuously with ongoing U.S.

09 Sep 2011

USCG Contracts with HII for Fifth National Security Cutter

The U.S. Coast Guard awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a contract action valued at approximately $482 million for the production of the fifth National Security Cutter.Construction of the ship to be named James, is scheduled to begin this spring at the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. following prefabrication.“The contract award for production and delivery of the fifth NSC is an important step forward in the Coast Guard’s efforts to recapitalize its aging surface fleet,” said Rear Adm. Bruce Baffer, the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate’s program executive officer. “The NSC is desperately needed to replace the service’s 40-year-old high endurance cutters and to be able to perform today’s challenging homeland security missions.” Captain Joshua James…

16 Aug 2011

National Security Cutter Stratton Completes Trials

Stratton Sea Trials

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that its third National Security Cutter, Stratton, successfully completed several days of rigorous acceptance trials Friday to ensure the cutter meets its contractual requirements and is ready for delivery to the Coast Guard. Stratton’s acceptance trials were conducted in Pascagoula, Miss., and at sea in the Gulf of Mexico by the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey. Acceptance trials resulted in two starred cards for Stratton…

07 Jun 2010

New Effort to Collect & Review Oil Spill Solutions

The Interagency Alternative Technology Assessment Program workgroup, newly established by the National Incident Commander for the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, announced a new effort to collect and review oil spill response solutions from scientists and vendors. The Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center, in collaboration with interagency partners, issued a Broad Agency Announcement on www.FedBizOpps.gov, calling for the submission of white papers that cover: oil sensing improvements to response and detection; oil wellhead control and submerged oil response; traditional oil spill response technologies; alternative oil spill response technologies; and oil spill damage assessment and restoration.

25 Mar 2009

CG Acquisition Improvements

On March 24, Congressman Elijah E. “The first hearing I convened during my tenure as the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation two years ago examined the mismanagement of the Coast Guard’s $24 billion Deepwater program intended to modernize the service’s surface and air assets. As confirmed at this morning’s hearing, the Coast Guard has taken significant steps since 2007 to improve the oversight and management of its acquisition programs and to position itself to effectively manage contractors and protect taxpayers’ investments in Coast Guard assets. “I was very pleased to learn of the agreement…

29 Dec 2008

CG Awards Contract for AIS

The U.S. Coast Guard's Acquisition Directorate announced the award of a contract to Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corp. to deliver the core Nationwide Automatic Identification System data exchange capability. Under the contract, valued at about $12m, Northrop Grumman will provide the necessary shore-side communications, network and processing capability to ensure the effective exchange of Automatic Identification System information between AIS-equipped vessels, aircraft, aids to navigation and shore stations within all major U.S. ports, waterways and coastal zones as well as from AIS-equipped vessels bound for the U.S. The core data exchange capability consists of all the system components and functionality…

15 Mar 2007

Coast Guard Reassigns Deepwater Patrol Boat Project

FRC Photo Credit: USCGThe U.S. Coast Guard has terminated the Deepwater Fast Response Cutter-B acquisition currently with Integrated Coast Guard Systems and reassigned the project to the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate. The project is for twelve patrol boats scheduled for delivery beginning Spring 2010. ICGS, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, was notified of the decision earlier today. “This decision is based on the Coast Guard’s ongoing commitment to improve management of the Integrated Deepwater System contract, to achieve best value for taxpayers and the government, and give Coast Guard men and women the capable assets they need to save lives, secure our maritime borders, and protect the environment,” said Adm.