NSC1 Fabrication Unit Lifted Into Place Since Hurricane

The first National Security Cutter (NSC 1) fabrication unit to be lifted into place since Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast is pictured here at Northrop Grumman's Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard on Monday, Oct. 17. The National Security Cutter is being developed by Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a joint venture between Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. It is designed to be the flagship of the Deepwater fleet, capable of meeting all maritime security mission requirements of the U.S. Coast Guard. It will be the largest and most technically advanced class of cutter in the Coast Guard. Construction of the NSC 1 began in September 2004 at Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems sector in Pascagoula, and the ship is expected to be delivered to the Coast Guard in 2008. Eight of these ships are planned to be built for the Coast Guard's fleet by 2017. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems includes primary operations in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss.; and in New Orleans and Tallulah, La., as well as in a network of fleet support offices in the U.S. and Japan. Ship Systems is one of the nation's leading full-service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction and life-cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies.