WASHINGTON — The Navy’s officials in charge of shipbuilding noted a silver lining in the cloud of the service’s upcoming trough in the force level of submarines in the fleet: a chance to keep pace on the maintenance backlog while the dry dock infrastructure is built up to handle the following increase in submarines. 

Because of decisions made decades ago in the post-Cold War drawdown, the Navy is facing a decline in its submarine force in the mid-2020s as the Los Angeles-class attack submarines (SSNs) are retired. Until recently, the building of the Virginia-class SSNs, at one per year, has been too slow to replace the retiring Los Angeles class. The result is a deficit in the force level in the mid-2020s that risks being as low as 41 boats. 

However, the Navy is looking at extending the life of several Los Angeles-class SSNs to help alleviate the shortage. Also, production of the Virginia class has increased from one boat per year to two, which by the mid-2020s will starting to help raise the force level. 

On Dec. 4, the Navy awarded a five-year multiyear contract to submarine builders General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding to build nine Block V Virginia-class SSNs, two per year, with an option for a 10th. The two-per-year rate will enable the Navy gradually to increase its submarine force structure. 

The Navy is instituting its Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan to improve the capacity and capabilities of its shipyards, including the upgrade of its dry docks.      

“We’re going to take advantage as there’s going to be a little downturn as the submarine numbers go down,” said James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, testifying Dec. 4 on Capitol Hill before a joint hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittees on seapower and readiness and management. “That will give us the spot to recapitalize so that as the numbers grow back up we will have all the capacity we need.” 

“We’re going to build the dry docks along with the maintenance plan along with the growth in the fleet to make sure that we get the maintenance done on time, to get the dry docks done on time to support the maintenance we’re going to need down the road,” Vice Adm. Thomas J. Moore, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, said in testimony before the subcommittees.   

The Navy in recent years has departed from its usual practice of having nuclear submarine maintenance performed only in the Navy-owned shipyards to keep up with the maintenance backlog. 

“We have sent some submarines to our nuclear submarine shipbuilders to do maintenance availabilities,” Geurts said. “Quite frankly, the performance there hasn’t been exactly stellar, either. A lot of that is the same issues we have in the public [Navy-owned] yards. You get a trained workforce doing maintenance that’s different from doing construction. It’s taken us awhile to get the training and proficiency up there.  

“I foresee on the submarine side always wanting the capacity to do some of that work in the private construction yards because that give us some surge capacity …  and opportunities where we need to balance out workload.” 

A senior defense official reaffirmed the importance of the
nuclear deterrent triad and the need for new sea-based, low-yield nuclear
weapons to counter increased nuclear arsenals by Russia and China and Russia’s
professed doctrine of early use of low-yield weapons to prevent a U.S. nuclear
response.

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood noted the
findings by last year’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) that “the United States
was reducing our reliance on nuclear weapons, reducing the size of our nuclear
stockpile, while at the same time Russia and China are moving in the opposition
direction, increasing their reliance on nuclear weapons … and increasing the
numbers and types of nuclear weapons.”

While the NPR endorsed the need to recapitalize the existing
nuclear triad of land-based Minuteman III and submarine-launched Trident D-5
ballistic missiles and nuclear-capable U.S. Air Force bombers, it also “recommended
pursue of some complementary capabilities,” Rood told a Defense Writers’
breakfast Dec. 4. President Trump then supported development of “a sea-launched
cruise missile and a submarine-launched ballistic missile” with low-yield
nuclear capability, he added.

“The ballistic missile is more advanced, utilizing the
existing submarine-launched ballistic missile, the D-5, with a modified warhead
for low yield. That program, we think, is going well. But for the [ship-launched]
cruise missile, we are not as advanced,” and were still going through an
analysis of alternatives, Rood said.

Rood said the need for the new low-yield weapons came from
intelligence reports of Russian emphasis on use of nuclear weapons earlier in a
conflict, “and the mistaken belief that they have the ability to use a
low-yield nuclear weapon earlier in the conflict in a way to deter response.”
He cited Russian President Vladimir Putin’s public statements advocating the
early use of low-yield nuclear weapons “as a way of deterring an adversary.”

“We saw the need of aggressive action to restore deterrence,
which had gotten weaker than we would like … with these supplemental
capabilities” that would show “we had a variety of capabilities that were more
survivable than the existing low-yield weapons” that are aircraft delivered.
“We see this as very stabilizing” and in no way supporting the concept of early
use of low-yield nuclear weapons, Rood said, countering the warnings from
arms-control advocates.

Rood also supported the administration’s withdrawal from the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Missile Treaty because Russia fielded land-based
missiles with a range beyond the INF limits, and the subsequent U.S. work to
develop similar weapons. He said there has been some testing of a possible
medium-range cruise missile but none for a ballistic missile. He avoided
answering a question about whether any European ally has indicated willingness
to host such a weapon by saying there had been no decision yet on developing
any specific system.       

And he restated the administration’s adamant position that
Turkey’s possession of the Russian-built S-400 air- and missile-defense system
“could never be compatible” with NATO, but added that Turkey remains an ally
and member of the alliance. He did not answer a question of what Turkey could
do to regain access to the F-35 program, for which it had been a component
producer and intended buyer.

PHILADELPHIA — Members of Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team New York, Customs and Border Protection, and multiple state and local police agencies increased maritime operations to deter illegal activity within the ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware, over the past three weeks, the Coast Guard 5^th District said in a Dec. 3 release. 

These combined joint agency efforts were focused on a period of heavy import and export before the holidays, accounting for more than $1.2 billion of commerce throughout the Delaware Bay watershed. 

During this time period, the Coast Guard and partner agencies conducted more than 470 hours of extensive joint operations that included the inspection of 235 vehicles before export, screening 150 ferry passengers and the pier side examination of 62 shipping containers. 

“The Delaware River contributes more than $77 billion dollars in economic value each year,” said Capt. Scott Anderson, Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay Commander and Captain of the Port. “These types of joint operations help unify law enforcement efforts in the port to disrupt, detect and deter illegal activities by sharing unique capabilities and resources between agencies.” 

In March 2019, an interagency task force seized 537 kilograms of contraband from a commercial vessel at the port of Philadelphia and in June 2019, nearly 20 tons of cocaine was seized, with an estimated street value of $1.3 billion. 

The Delaware River port facilities can receive more than 3,000 deep draft vessels each year. There are more than 70 private and public facilities capable of servicing bulk, break bulk and containerized cargos. 

Philadelphia is the largest North American port for the importing of paper, meat, cocoa beans and fruit. The Delaware River is also the largest energy port on the East Coast. 

BURLINGTON, Mass. — BAE Systems has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop software that will enable semi-autonomous multi-domain mission planning, the company said in a Dec. 3 release. The technology will be designed for military operators to leverage battlespace resources from across various domains, such as space, air, land and sea, for more effective, efficient missions, according to the company.  

Military operators currently use manual processes to assess availability and coordinate use of sensors, communications, weapons and other assets across domains. DARPA’s Adapting Cross-Domain Kill-Webs (ACK) program will seek to help operators adapt to dynamic situations with software technology that automatically identifies the best options. In response, BAE Systems’ FAST Labs research and development organization, along with teammate Carnegie Mellon University, will create software called Multi-domain Adaptive Request Service (MARS).  

MARS aims to help operators make informed decisions by automatically identifying available capabilities across domains, and then rapidly assessing the costs and benefits to use those capabilities when adjusting mission tasks. The software also includes a visual interface that will allow the exploration of available asset options, helping operators arrive at the best course of action to deliver the desired effect on targets.  

“Multi-domain mission planning is complex because it involves a tremendous amount of distributed variables such as domains, systems, resources, and manned and unmanned platforms,” said Chris Eisenbies, product line director of the Autonomy, Controls and Estimation group at BAE Systems. “Our hope is that MARS will provide warfighters with the ability to automatically leverage the resources they need and quickly determine the most effective way to accomplish their mission no matter what type of battlespace they are operating in.” 

MARS builds on BAE Systems’ robust autonomy portfolio and 20-year history pioneering autonomy technology. Work on the ACK program, valued at $3.1 million, is being performed at the company’s facilities in Burlington, Massachusetts, and Arlington, Virginia. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy awarded it largest shipbuilding contract ever with an order for nine Block V Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), with an option for a 10th SSN, Navy officials said in a Dec. 2 media roundtable in the Pentagon. The $22.2 billion contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB), teamed with Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) as a major subcontractor to EB, will mean that the shipbuilders will soon be building three submarines per year — including one Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine — and will add thousands of new jobs to meet the demand.  

The nine Block V boats will be funded over five years through the 2019–2023 budgets, beginning with SSN 802, the only boat in the block that will be built without a Virginia Payload Module (VPM), a hull extension that adds four payload tubes for up to 28 more Tomahawk cruise missiles (for a total of 40, including the bow tubes) or other future payloads, including special operations forces equipment. The VPM-equipped Block V boats will enable the Navy eventually to retire the four Ohio-class guided-missile submarines. 

The contract allows approximately $455 million for the long-lead purchase of material and equipment for the option of a 10th Block V boat, enabling the Navy to order the material at economic order quantities and preserve the supplier industrial base. If the option is exercised, the 10^th boat would cost an additional $1.9 billion, raising the contract value to a total of $241 billion. 

Government-furnished equipment, such as nuclear reactors and propulsion machinery, will add $13 billion to the program, said James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, speaking to reporters at the roundtable. 

Geurts said the multi-year aspect of the contract will garner savings of a minimum of 7% ($1.8 billion) and potentially 17% ($4.4 billion) is the planned delivery schedule is sustained. 

“Block V Virginias and Virginia Payload Module are a generational leap in submarine capability for the Navy. These design changes will enable the fleet to maintain our nation’s undersea dominance.”

Rear Adm. David Goggins, the Navy’s program executive officer for Submarines

The first Block V boats, SSN 802, are scheduled for a 70-month construction period. The second and third boats — SSNs 803 and 804, the first subs with the VPM — are under a 74-month construction schedule. Subsequent boats are planned for 72-month construction timelines. Delivery of SSN 802 is scheduled for 2025, with the subsequent boats following through 2029. 

Rear Adm. David Goggins, the Navy’s program executive officer for Submarines, also speaking at the roundtable, said the Navy has delivered 18 Virginia-class SSNs, with all 10 Block IV boats under construction, and that the program has shortened the total span of the construction program by 3.5 years. He said the last Block IV boat, SSN 801, will be completed in 60 months. 

“Over the life of the Virginia program, shipbuilders have driven delivery timelines from 88 months in Block I to a current average rate of 68 months, while doubling the build rate of submarines to two ships per year and consistently increasing ship capability,” EB said in a Dec. 2 release.   

Goggins praised the increasing quality of production of the Virginia SSNs, noting that the newest, the future USS Delaware, scored a 0.96 on its review by the Bureau of Inspection and Survey. 

EB and NNS have a teaming arrangement whereby each builder produces certain sections of the submarines and alternate as final assembly and delivery yards for the Virginia class. Because EB will be the delivery builder for the upcoming Columbia class, NNS will be the delivery yard for six of the nine or 10 Block V SSNs, and EB will deliver three, plus one more, the 10th, if the option is exercised.  

Kevin Graney, president of Electric Boat, also speaking at the roundtable, said that EB has invested $1.7 billion in new facilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island, including a 750,000-square-foot construction hall for the Virginia Payload Modules. He said EB has hired 15,000 new workers and expects to hire 13,000 more by 2027 for the two submarine programs. 

Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding, said that the parent company, Huntington Ingalls, has hired 10,000 workers and expects to hire 1,500 more. Huntington Ingalls has invested more than $1 billion in new facilities, more than half to the NNS yards.    

Geurts praised the multi-year contract as one that will ensure stability for the shipyard and their work force, noting that the contract “was built for stability,” a factor that will enable shipyard workers “to know their future” and for shipyards to “retain high-caliber talent.” 

He also noted that “the greatest risk to Columbia was an unstable Virginia program.” 

“Block V Virginias and Virginia Payload Module are a generational leap in submarine capability for the Navy,” Goggins said in a Dec. 2 release. “These design changes will enable the fleet to maintain our nation’s undersea dominance.” 

“The Block V contract balances the right mix of undersea quantity and capability with a profile that continues to stabilize the industrial base. This balance and stability will enable the success of submarine acquisitions across the enterprise,” said Virginia-class Program Manager Capt. Christopher Hanson. “Our warfighters, the Navy and the nation will benefit greatly from the new capabilities that the Block V submarines will bring to the fleet.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Coast Guard is seeking volunteers to help the U.K. Royal Navy train its engineering Sailors on board the Royal Navy’s ships. 

In a Nov. 27 message from Coast Guard headquarters, the service has solicited 11 personnel to fill engineering billets on Royal Navy ships and one other person — a yeoman, to provide shore-based administrative support for the 11 engineers. The 11 engineering personnel requested include three chief or first-class electrician’s mates, two chief or first-class machinery technicians, five first-class machinery technicians, and one damage controlman. 

The message said the Coast Guardsmen would be assigned “for a three-year tour with the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (UKRN), on Royal Navy vessels. The UKRN has requested USCG support to help raise the level of engineering proficiency and specialty knowledge in the fleet.” 

Upon arrival in the United Kingdom, the Coast Guardsmen “would complete three months of orientation and training followed by sea assignments. There will only be one USCG member attached to each UKRN ship,” the message said. 

The Coast Guard has provided such personnel for Royal Navy ships in previous years.  

WILMINGTON, N.C. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Diligence returned to Wilmington, North Carolina, Nov. 28 following a 60-day patrol in the Caribbean, the Coast Guard 5th District said in a release of the same date.  

The Diligence performed counter-drug, search-and-rescue and alien migrant interdiction operations in support of Coast Guard District Seven and Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) South. 

While working with Coast Guard Sector San Juan, Puerto Rico, Diligence seized more than 300 kilograms of cocaine, worth more than $9 million, and was responsible for the disruption of more than 800 kilograms of cocaine worth more than $25 million. The operation also led to the apprehension of two drug smugglers, who were turned over to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration authorities in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands for prosecution. Cutter Diligence also helped facilitate the transfer of 5,000 kilograms of cocaine and 11 drug smugglers interdicted by other Coast Guard cutters to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for prosecution. 

Diligence also interdicted three illegal and unsafe migrant smuggling vessels in the Mona Pass between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and repatriated 76 of the migrants to the Dominican Republic Navy and turned over four migrants suspected to be in violation of U.S. immigration laws to U.S. Customs authorities in Puerto Rico.  

In early November, Diligence found a Haitian vessel disabled and adrift off the north coast of Haiti. Diligence’s Rescue and Assistance team was deployed and determined the vessel to be inoperable. Diligence took the vessel in tow and delivered the vessel and 13 passengers to a safe harbor on the north coast of Haiti.  

Later that month, Diligence assisted the Royal Bahamian Police and Defense Forces in rescuing 86 Haitian migrants stranded on a desolate beach on Great Inagua island with no food or water after their vessel had run aground. Diligence brought all 86 persons aboard the cutter, and safely delivered them to Bahamian Customs authorities in Matthew Town, Great Inagua. 

“Diligence had a remarkably busy and productive patrol,” said Cmdr. Luke M. Slivinski, Diligence’s commanding officer. “Our success in carrying out numerous challenging operations in an unforgiving maritime environment across a range of Coast Guard missions was a testament to the professionalism, hard work, and determination of the crew.” 

During the patrol, Diligence embarked an aviation detachment from Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico, which assisted in the detection and deterrence of illegal maritime activity and increasing the visibility of the U.S. Coast Guard in the Caribbean. Diligence constantly trained and worked with the aviation detachment to ensure seamless integration and operational proficiency. 

Fifty-four-year-old Coast Guard Cutter Diligence is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Wilmington, with a crew of approximately 80. Diligence’s primary missions consist of counter drug, migrant interdiction, enforcing federal fishery laws, and search and rescue in support of Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Adm. James L. Holloway III, the 20th chief of naval operations and a combat veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, died Nov. 26, according to the Naval Historical Foundation (NHF), an organization he headed after his retirement from active duty. 

The NHF confirmed his death early on Nov. 26 in a phone call. 

“It is with great sadness that the Naval Historical Foundation announces the passing of Admiral James L. Holloway III, the 20th chief of naval operations, a true Navy legend, son of a four-star admiral and former chairman of the Naval Historical Foundation,” the NHF said in its release on Holloway. 

“The NHF is humbled to pay homage to this incredible warrior and public servant. Admiral Holloway’s life was an inspiration, full of heroic accomplishments and achievements to which many might aspire, but few achieve. Admiral Holloway’s life was one of exemplary service, dedication, sacrifice, leadership and honor.” 

Holloway served as a surface warfare officer in WWII, as a naval aviator in the Korean War and as a carrier skipper, task force commander and numbered fleet commander during Vietnam. 

According to the Historical Foundation’s announcement and obituary on Holloway, he was born in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 23, 1922, to James L. Holloway Jr. and Jean Gordon Hagood. His father was a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1919 and attained the rank of Admiral — distinguishing the Holloways as the only father-son pair in the Navy’s history to achieve that rank during active service. 

James L. Holloway III attended Saint James School near Hagerstown, Maryland, and upon graduation in 1939 entered the Naval Academy himself, graduating in 1942 as a member of the accelerated Class of 1943, where he was a member of the wrestling team. 

He served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during World War II, including North Atlantic convoy duty and in the western Pacific at Saipan, Tinian, Palau and Leyte Gulf campaigns as gunnery officer of the destroyer USS Bennion, according to his obituary. 

During the Battle of Surigao Strait in October 1944, the Bennion was heavily engaged and helped sink the battleship Yamashiro with torpedoes in addition to shooting down three Japanese aircraft. For his actions during the battle, Holloway received the Bronze Star Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. 

Following WWII, Holloway reported for flight training and was designated a naval aviator, according to his NHF obituary. During the Korean War, he flew many combat sorties in a Grumman F9F-2 Panther, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation. 

He was a pioneer in this early era of carrier-based jet aviation and completed two tours in the heavily contested war zone. During one particularly challenging time, the commanding officer of his squadron, Fighting Squadron 52, was shot down and Holloway found himself in the leadership role as commander. 

Shortly after the war, he served as a technical expert in the production of the critically acclaimed movie, “The Bridges at Toko-Ri,” a film that generated public awareness of the Korean War and the sacrifices of those who fought in it. 

From 1965 to 1967, he commanded the USS Enterprise, the Navy’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Holloway was the third commanding officer of the ship but the first to take her into combat. He was subsequently promoted to rear admiral and then vice admiral in 1970, commanding the U.S. 7th Fleet through the end of the Vietnam War. 

Holloway served as CNO from 1974 to 1978, including periods where he was acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a particularly challenging time in the history of our nation. His accomplishments as a flag officer earned him four Navy Distinguished Service Medals and two Defense Distinguished Service Medals. 

Following his naval service, Holloway continued in public service and authored “Aircraft Carriers at War: A Personal Retrospective of Korea, Vietnam, and the Soviet Confrontation,” a book that reflected his passion for analyzing history to better understand the present and future.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Defense Secretary Mark Esper recommended that retired Rear Adm. Kenneth J. Braithwaite II, who serves as U.S. ambassador to Norway, become the next Navy secretary and successor to Richard V. Spencer, who resigned Nov. 24. President Trump signaled in a tweet he intends to nominate Braithwaite. 

Braithwaite is a former P-3 naval aviator who became a Navy public affairs officer.   

In his final assignment as the Navy’s vice chief of information, Braithwaite served as the principal Navy Reserve liaison and adviser to the chief of information, having responsibility for formulating strategic communications counsel to Department of the Navy leadership, according to his official biography. He also served as the head of the Navy Reserve public affairs program and as an adjunct adviser to commander, Navy Reserve Force. 

A 1984 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Braithwaite was designated a naval aviator in April 1986. His first operational assignment was to Patrol Squadron 17, NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii. He flew anti-submarine missions, tracking adversary submarines throughout the western Pacific and Indian oceans, according to his official biography. 

In April 1988, he was redesignated as a public affairs officer with a first tour aboard the aircraft carrier USS America. He had additional duty as the PAO to commander, Carrier Group 2, and the commander of Striking Force 6th Fleet. He made both a NATO force deployment to the North Atlantic operating above the Arctic Circle and a Mediterranean/Indian Ocean cruise, where the battle group responded to tensions in the Persian Gulf. In 1990, he was assigned to the staff of commander, Naval Base Philadelphia, as chief of public affairs. 

Braithwaite left active duty in 1993 and resumed service in the Navy Reserve, where he served with numerous commands from Boston to Norfolk, Virginia. Also during this time, he earned a master’s degree in government administration with honors from the University of Pennsylvania. 

In October 2001, Braithwaite assumed command of NR Fleet Combat Camera Atlantic at Naval Air Station Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, according to his bio. During this tour the command was tasked with providing support to the Joint Task Force Commander, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In March 2003, he deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom with a portion of his command in support of naval operations to capture the port of Umm Qasr. Following this tour, he was commanding officer of Navy Office of Information New York 102.  

Braithwaite served as commander, Joint Public Affairs Support Element-Reserve, from October 2004 to October 2007. In this role, he commanded a 50-person joint public affairs expeditionary unit that was forward deployed to support joint combatant commanders in time of conflict. 

While in command and following the devastating earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, Braithwaite was deployed there as part of a joint task force for disaster assistance, serving as strategic communications director and working for the JTF commander and the U.S. ambassador in Islamabad, according to his official biography.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton returned Nov. 22 to their homeport of Alameda following a 162-day deployment to the western Pacific Ocean, Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release. 

The crew departed Alameda on June 13 and has operated under the tactical control of the commander of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet. In the western Pacific, the crew patrolled and conducted operations as directed, including enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by monitoring and gathering intelligence on vessels conducting ship-to-ship transfers in the East China, South China and Yellow Seas. 

They also engaged in professional exchanges and visited ports in Fiji, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Crew members combated illegal fishing and conducted community relations events and capacity-building exercises with navies and coast guards throughout the region. 

The U.S. Coast Guard has an enduring role in the Indo-Pacific, going back more than 150 years. The service’s ongoing deployment of resources directly supports U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives in the Indo-Pacific region. 

“The U.S. Coast Guard is proud to operate with our Pacific counterparts, and together we are dedicated to enhancing our capabilities and strengthening maritime governance and security while promoting individual sovereignty,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Area. 

Commissioned in 2010, Stratton was the third of the Coast Guard’s Legend-class national security cutters. Eight national security cutters are currently in service, including four homeported in Alameda and two in Honolulu. 

These technologically advanced ships are 418 feet long, 54 feet wide and have a 4,600 long-ton displacement. They have a top speed in excess of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles, endurance of up to 90 days and can accommodate a crew of up to 170. 

National security cutters feature advanced command-and-control capabilities, aviation support facilities, stern cutter boat launch and increased endurance for long-range patrols to disrupt threats to national security further offshore. 

“The U.S. Coast Guard’s unique authorities, capabilities, and missions make us the maritime safety and security partner of choice for sea-going countries around the world,” Fagan said. “Our increased presence throughout the Indo-Pacific will enhance regional stability and improve maritime governance and security.”