The Coast Guard Cutter Northland is at sea with the first phase of communications systems upgrades for 270-foot medium endurance cutters as part of the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS). Northland is the first cutter to receive this upgrade, which immediately provides improved performance within existing communications systems and allows additional access to a variety of intelligence and data sources, previously unavailable to these cutters. Among its enhanced capabilities, Northland will have access to classified and unclassified data communications through international maritime Satellite B services connectivity to the U.S. Department of Defense's Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNET).