The Heritage-class cutters will perform various USCG missions which include but are not limited to PWCS (ports, waterways, and coastal security), defense operations, maritime law enforcement (drug/migrant interdiction and other law enforcement), search and rescue, marine safety, and environment protection. For defense operations, the WMSM will meet a range of roles from theater security cooperation to deploying with an expeditionary strike group (ESG) or supporting a combatant commander in various ways. The cutters will also support Arctic operations.[7]
Design
The Heritage-class cutters are the newest class of cutter in the USCG, bridging the capabilities of the Legend and Sentinel-class cutters. The design is based on Vard Marine's VARD 7 110 offshore patrol vessel design.[8] The cutters will be classified to American Bureau of Shipping Naval Vessel Rules with USCG addendum and will be built with a mix of military and commercial standards.[9]
The cutters will have the ability to install additional armament and systems to augment their capabilities, if required to conduct operations in higher threat environments in support of national security objectives or other missions. The cutters' construction will provide combat survivability against various threats, including combatant-type compartmentalization, uninterruptible power supply to vital combat and damage control systems and sensors, and ballistic materials over critical areas for protection against small caliber weapons and shrapnel.[10]
The cutters have increased interoperability with other USCG and Department of Defense assets, which provides increased communications and similar systems with other combatants such as the Mk 110 and the Mk 38, weapons used in both the United States Navy (USN) and the USCG. This ensures that the Heritage class has the required interoperability to execute naval warfare tasks with the USN.[11] These cutters have space and weight reserved for additional weapons systems which would allow them to carry out wartime missions.
Propulsion
Rolls-Royce will supply the USCG Heritage-class fleet's controllable-pitch propellers (CPP), shaft lines, and Promas rudders, which offer increased propulsive efficiency and improved maneuverability. The Promas rudder, combined with the water-soluble polyalkylene glycol (PAG) lubricant used in the CPP system, delivers an efficient and environmentally friendly propulsion solution. Rolls-Royce will supply bow thrusters, steering gear, fin stabilizers, and MTU marine generator sets.[12]
Leonardo DRS is providing a small Hybrid Electric Drive for operation at low speed.[13]
Combat suite
The SaabSea Giraffe AN/SPS-77(V)3 multi-mode medium-range naval radar system provides three-dimensional air and surface search functions. The multi-mode naval radar provides Gun Weapon System cueing and supports the cutter's self-defense and limited air defense capability.[14] The cutters are equipped with the AN/SLQ-32C(V)6 electronic warfare system, which is a scaled down and lower cost version of the AN/SLQ-32(V)6 SEWIP Block 2 system.[15] The Heritage-class cutters are equipped with the same 220 rpm Bofors 57 mm gun as mounted on the USN's Littoral combat ships and Constellation-class frigates, as well as the USCG's Legend-class cutters.[16][17]
The missile defense duties are handled by the MK 53 decoy systems, also used on the Legend-class cutters. The Heritage-class cutters weapon and defense systems provide anti-surface capability, limited air-defense capability, and the capability to provide naval gunfire support.[18] The cutter's .50 caliber mounts and Mk 38/Mk 110 combination give the cutter protection against fast attack craft.[19] The WMSM will have the capability and equipment to escape from a CBRNE and/or TIC contaminated environment.[20]
History
''Argus'' prior to her launch, 2023
The cutter was originally proposed to replace aging medium endurance cutters with more capable and technologically advanced cutters as a part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program. By 2010 and 2011 some commentators speculated that the entire program was vulnerable to cancellation on budgetary grounds, because of the long delay in finalizing a preliminary design.[21][22]
A bill passed by the United States Congress in November 2011, imposed conditions on the USCG's capital expenditures, that revolved around the design of the Offshore Patrol Cutter, granting greater certainty to the project.[23]
In September 2016, Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City, Florida, was awarded a $110.3 million contract to build the first Offshore Patrol Cutter with an option to purchase eight additional cutters.[27][28] In October 2016 the Coast Guard issued a notice to proceed with the detailed design of the Offshore Patrol Cutter to Eastern Shipbuilding.[29]
The first Offshore Patrol Cutter is expected to be delivered in late 2022.[30] In total, the 25-ship deal could be worth up to $10.5 billion. In July 2017, Eastern Shipbuilding completed its Initial Critical Design Review for the Offshore Patrol Cutter. This leads to the Final Critical Design Review for the Offshore Patrol Cutter.[31]
In August 2017, it was announced that the OPC's will be named "Heritage class" and the first 11 OPCs were named.[32] The Heritage-class OPCs are named after cutters that played a significant role in the Coast Guard's history.[33]
In September 2017, the USCG exercised a fixed-price option to procure long lead time materials for the first Heritage-class cutter. The total value is $41.68 million, this covers various materials and parts needed for the engines, switchboards and generators, steering and propeller components, and control systems.[34] This includes meeting Coast Guard requirements, and meeting all American Bureau of Shipping Naval Vessel Rules. It is the first US Coast Guard cutter ever constructed to meet these very specific requirements. The construction of the first cutter, USCGC Argus (WMSM-915), was planned to begin in the late summer of 2018, with delivery in August 2021.[35]
In September 2018, the USCG exercised the contract option to begin construction of the lead Offshore Patrol Cutter, along with long-lead materials for OPC #2. The total value of the options exercised is $317.5 million.[36] Delayed by the impact of Hurricane Michael in October 2018, steel cutting for USCGC Argus began in January 2019.[37]
In October 2019, the Department of Homeland Security approved a limited extraordinary relief for the offshore patrol cutter contract, as a result of damage to Eastern Shipbuilding facilities caused by Hurricane Michael, and adjusted the offshore patrol cutter detail design and construction contract with Eastern Shipbuilding group for up to the first four hulls. The Coast Guard will release a Request for Information to see industry interest in re-competing the remainder of the offshore patrol cutter Program of Record.[38]
In July 2022, Austal USA was awarded the contract for detail design and material acquisition for the fifth hull in the class, with an option for up to 11 hulls in total (hulls 5-15).[5]
In August 2023, the Coast Guard estimated that the first Offshore Patrol Cutter, USCGC Argus (WMSM-915), won't be delivered until around September 30, 2024, over three years later than its original projected delivery date of August 2021, and nearly six years after Eastern Shipbuilding first cut steel for the Argus in January 2019.[39]
^
Colin Clark (7 December 2010). "Coasties May Lose Cutters to OMB". dodbuzz.com. Retrieved 2 December 2011. The program is in its infancy, which may be why OMB wants to cut it before any money starts flowing. Chris Cavas at Navy Times reported that the Coasties are talking to shipbuilders about the best technical and acquisition approaches for the ship. No contracts are due to be awarded for at least another year, so from OMB's perspective this looks like the best time to save the most money.
^
Craig Collins on April 27, 2011 (27 April 2011). "The Coast Guard's Offshore Patrol Cutter". defensemedianetwork.com. Retrieved 2 December 2011. The reason rumors continue to swirl about the Coast Guard's future Offshore Patrol Cutter — including recent speculation that the entire program was to be axed – may simply be that so little has been decided about what the cutter will actually look like. The OPC is a high-profile program, one of the most expensive and talked-about shipbuilding ventures in Coast Guard history, and people are curious.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^David Perera (28 November 2011). "House Coast Guard authorization bill decommissions icebreaker within 3 years". fiercehomelandsecurity.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2011. Language in the bill would prevent the Coast Guard from starting production on a seventh NSC until it selects an Offshore Patrol Cutter design. The service released a draft specification for the OPCs to industry in May 2011 and is currently reviewing comments; Coast Guard officials said during an Oct. 13 press call that they couldn't say when they'll release a draft request for proposals.
^Stew Magnuson (December 2011). "Lean Fiscal Times Influence Design Of New Coast Guard Cutter Program". National Defense. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011. The Coast Guard has already made some budget-based decisions as far as what the ship will not feature. Gas turbine engines and a system to launch small boats from the stern are two ideas that have already been rejected, he said.
^"The Long Blue Line: the Nation's first fleet, today's Offshore Patrol Cutters". Coast Guard Compass. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2022. The first flight of 11 OPCs will include the Active, Argus, Diligence and Vigilant, named for four cutters of the first fleet and subsequent cutters with the same names. OPC Pickering will pay homage to the distinguished combat record of the Quasi-War cutter Pickering. OPC Ingham will carry the name of a 327-foot "Treasury"-class cutter that served with distinction in World War II. OPC Icarus will honor the cutter that sank one of the first Nazi U-boats after U.S. entry into World War II. OPCs Chase and Rush will bear two cutter names long associated with the Coast Guard, most recently with two high-endurance cutters of the 378-foot Hamilton-class. And, OPCs Alert and Reliance will bear the names of two famed workhorses of the medium-endurance cutter fleet.
^"Coast Guard Exercises Long Lead Time Materials Option For First Offshore Patrol Cutter". dcms.uscg.mil. Retrieved 8 September 2017. The Coast Guard exercised a fixed-price option to the service's existing contract with Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. of Panama City, Florida, today to procure long lead time materials for the first offshore patrol cutter (OPC). The total value of the option is $41.68 million. This covers the initial order of components and materials necessary to support the cutter's construction including propeller and steering components, marine diesel engines, the ship integrated control system, switchboards and generators.
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