Projecto Deepwater da US Coast Guard

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Projecto Deepwater da US Coast Guard
« em: Julho 10, 2004, 01:55:44 pm »
The Integrated Deepwater System: A Cutter Fleet for the 21st-Century U.S. Coast Guard
 
 
(Source: Frost & Sullivan; issued June 29, 2004)
 
 
 The Integrated Deepwater System is poised to transform the operational capabilities of the U.S. Coast Guard’s surface inventory of cutters and their associated small boats. This progressive modernization and recapitalization acquisition strategy, a top capital priority, is key to sustaining the U.S. Coast Guard’s operational excellence in all of its military, multimission, and maritime responsibilities during the early decades of the 21st century.  
 
Deepwater’s objectives in the surface arena call for the design and development of three new classes of cutters—each featuring higher reliability, greater ease of maintenance, improved operational effectiveness, and reduced manning—and all at lower total-operating costs. The Coast Guard plans for its new cutters to operate as integrated elements in the Deepwater system of systems of air and surface platforms, all highly interoperable as the result of their modern systems for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR).  
 
At a planned length of 421 feet, the Maritime Security Cutter, Large (WMSL, formerly the National Security Cutter), is the largest of Deepwater’s three cutter classes. With a maximum speed of 28 knots, endurance of 60 days, and range of 12,000 miles, the WMSL will have the improved sea keeping, operational capabilities, and endurance appropriate for the Coast Guard’s most demanding missions.  
 
The Coast Guard awarded two contracts in April 2003 to Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Ships Systems sector for initial development and delivery of the first Maritime Security Cutter, Large. Detail design work is being conducted at Northrop Grumman’s New Orleans Engineering Center of Excellence. Fabrication of the first WMSL is planned to begin in 2005, with the ship’s initial operational capability projected for 2007.  
 
The Maritime Security Cutter, Medium (WMSM, formerly the Offshore Patrol Cutter), at a planned length of 341 feet, bridges the gap between the large Maritime Security Cutter and Deepwater’s smallest surface platform, the Maritime Patrol Coastal cutter (WPC, formerly the Fast Response Cutter).  
 
Owing to the continued deterioration of the materiel condition of its Island-class 110-foot patrol boats, the Coast Guard decided earlier this year to accelerate the design and development of the WPC to replace existing 110s. At present, the Coast Guard has contracted for eight 110s to be converted to the more capable 123-foot cutter as part of Deepwater’s modernization efforts. The first, the cutter Matagorda, was delivered in early March after a year-long conversion at Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana. Four more 110s will be converted during the current fiscal year.  
 
The Coast Guard’s fiscal year 2004 appropriation provided funds to accelerate the design of the WPC, and the Deepwater Program is conducting a business-case analysis to determine the appropriate number of 123-foot conversions to complete prior to the transition to the WPC; a decision is expected later this year.  
 
Each of Deepwater’s new cutters will be more capable than today’s aging and increasingly obsolete platforms—in part through a design that will incorporate reconfigurable spaces that can be tailored for specific missions. Crew size, the most significant contributor to a ship’s total life-cycle cost, will be reduced through a variety of means, including a greater reliance on automated systems. Design requirements will be incorporated based on human-centered engineering principles, lessons learned from past cutter-crewing analysis, and the results of Department of Defense acquisition programs and studies.  
 
Other planned improvements include large hangars that will accommodate a mix of helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); a 360-degree visibility bridge to enhance operational awareness and safety; dual-gender berthing accommodations to enable more flexible crew assignment; and improved sea keeping to enable small boat and air operations in higher sea states.  
 
The performance specification for the large Maritime Security Cutter contains multiple requirements for limited self-defense capabilities including operating in a low-threat environment, firing warning and disabling shots against targets of interest, engaging surface threats such as high-speed patrol craft, and employing self-defense measures against anti-ship cruise missiles.  
 
The design of the WMSL has been changed to adapt to post-9/11 realities. New features include improved detection and defensive capabilities for chemical/ biological/ radiological weapons, an extended flight deck to permit the operations for a wider range of helicopters, and improved means for receiving and handling highly classified intelligence data and communications using Navy-supplied equipment.  
 
Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, serves as the Deepwater program’s partner in industry and systems integrator. ICGS has proposed the incorporation of a Bofors Mk-3/57mm intermediate caliber gun into the large cutter’s design to meet these requirements. Capable of firing 220 rounds per minute, the gun is based on a model in service with NATO allies for more than 10 years.  
 
Deepwater’s aviation plan calls for the Coast Guard to introduce its first UAVs into its aircraft inventory as the new cutters enter operational service. Bell Helicopter was awarded a contract in 2003 to commence concept and preliminary design work on its Eagle Eye vertical takeoff-and-landing unmanned aerial vehicle (VUAV). VUAVs will be deployed aboard the large and medium-sized Maritime Security Cutters. Eagle Eye’s initial operational capability is projected to coincide with the delivery of the first WMSL. Up to four Eagle Eyes could be deployed on each WMSL or WMSM, or two may be deployed jointly when a helicopter is embarked.  
 
In furtherance of the National Fleet policy agreement between the Navy and the Coast Guard, Deepwater’s design teams seek common technologies, systems, and processes critical to both the Navy’s future Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Coast Guard’s future cutters. This cooperation and collaboration will enhance Deepwater’s surface platforms’ interoperability and compatibility with Navy ships.  
 
During testimony before the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation this April, U.S. House of Representatives, Vice Adm. Thomas J. Barrett, Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, underscored the importance of the Deepwater program to the Coast Guard’s future. "Deepwater is essential if the Coast Guard is to be properly recapitalized," he said. "Our people need more capable and reliable platforms and systems if they are to conduct their demanding missions as effectively, efficiently, and safely as possible."  
 
 
(Frost & Sullivan would like to thank Capt. Gordon I. Peterson, U.S. Navy, Ret. (technical director with Anteon Corporations Center for Security Strategies and Operations) for developing these cases and for his valuable contribution.)