Sept. 28, 2018 —
Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf crewmembers conduct a counterdrug patrol throughout international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, March 11, 2018. The ship is the first national security cutter, the largest and most technically advanced class of cutter in the Coast Guard, with robust capabilities for maritime homeland security, law enforcement and national defense missions. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Trees.
The Coast Guard exercised an option under the existing contract with Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. of Pascagoula, Mississippi today, to procure long lead-time material in preparation for the construction of the 11th national security cutter (NSC).
The option exercise is valued at approximately $97.1 million. This amount supports the initial order of long lead time components and material necessary to prepare for the construction of the new cutter, including steel plating, propulsion system, marine turbine/diesel engines, air search radar, ship integrated control system, switchboards and generators.
The NSCs feature advanced command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; aviation support facilities; stern cutter boat launch; and long-endurance station keeping. They are the Coast Guard’s most technologically advanced cutters, built to act as command and control centers for complex national security, defense and law enforcement missions. The NSCs displace 4,500 tons with a full load, have a range of 12,000 miles and can endure 60- to 90- day patrol cycles. They are replacing the 1960s-era 378-foot high-endurance cutters.
Six NSCs are currently in service. Coast Guard cutters Hamilton and James are stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, and Coast Guard cutters Bertholf, Waesche, Stratton and Munro are stationed in Alameda, California. The seventh NSC, Kimball, will be commissioned in January 2019 in its Honolulu homeport.
For more information: National Security Cutter Program page