bobdina
08-15-2009, 11:43 PM
National Security Cutter
The National Security Cutter (NSC) is the flagship of the fleet, capable of meeting all maritime security mission needs. It is 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.
Features
* Increased range and endurance (60–90 day patrol cycles)
* Automated weapons system
* Medium caliber deck gun (57MM) capable of stopping rogue merchant vessels far from shore
* Larger flight deck
* State-of-the-art Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) equipment enhancing interoperability between Coast Guard and U.S. Navy
* Detection and defense capabilities against chemical, biological, or radiological attack
* Advanced sensors for intelligence collection and sharing
* Real-time tracking and seamless Common Operational Picture/Maritime Domain Awareness
Any Mission, Anytime, Anywhere
At 418 feet, the lead ship in the new Legend-class of national security cutters is designed to be the flagship of the U.S. Coast Guard’s fleet, capable of executing the most challenging maritime security missions including supporting the mission requirements of the joint U.S. combatant commanders. The NSC is the largest and most technically advanced class of the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) program’s three major classes of cutters and will replace the aging 378' High Endurance Hamilton class cutters that have been in service since the 1960s.
Capability
Compared to legacy cutters, the NSC’s design will provide better sea keeping and higher sustained transit speeds, greater endurance and range, and the ability for launch and recovery, in higher sea states of improved small boats, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles – all key attributes in enabling the Coast Guard to implement increased security responsibilities. Such duties include exerting more effective jurisdiction over foreign-flagged ships transiting U.S. waters. Deepwater’s more capable maritime security cutters, for example, will enable the Coast Guard to screen and target vessels faster, more safely and reliably before they arrive in U.S. waters – to include conducting onboard verification through boardings and, if necessary, taking enforcement-control actions.The NSC will serve as an integral part of the Coast Guard’s collaborative inter-agency effort to achieve maritime domain awareness and ensure the safety of the American public and sovereignty of U.S. maritime borders.
Evolving Mission Requirements
Just as the multiple maritime and military roles of the U.S. Coast Guard have grown in scope and significance since the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States, so too have the NSC’s capability requirements evolved to be responsive to today’s ever-more challenging operational missions and threats. “ The Coast Guard’s Deepwater Program existed prior to 9/11”, said Blore at the keel-laying ceremony for “Waesche”, “as did our Coast Guard, as did this shipyard. For Deepwater to modernize and recapitalize the Coast Guard, we need to change with the threat.”
NSC Structural Design
Not atypically for a first-in-class ship, during the Coast Guard’s review of the NSC’s design from 2002 to 2004, concerns were raised about certain aspects of the ship’s structure that could prevent it from achieving its required 30-year service life. Specifically, Coast Guard and independent technical experts questioned whether some of the cutter’s structural components would experience fatigue damage prior to the service-life objective, a critical consideration given the extended, high-tempo operations expected of the NSC. After thorough review, the Coast Guard determined that it is in the U.S. Government’s interest to increase the fatigue tolerance of the NSC to ensure that the ship’s basic structures will meet its projected 30-year service life. Engineering changes to address the desired structural enhancements were developed in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and other naval engineering experts for approval by the Deepwater Program’s technical authority, the Engineering and Logistics Directorate at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
In the end, Coast Guard officials say, the NSC will be designed to achieve a 30-year fatigue life and built to deliver 21st Century capabilities to the Coast Guard in a way that will enhance the safety of its crew and allow the Coast Guard to execute its central missions more effectively, efficiently, and safely.
http://www.uscg.mil/
The National Security Cutter (NSC) is the flagship of the fleet, capable of meeting all maritime security mission needs. It is 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.
Features
* Increased range and endurance (60–90 day patrol cycles)
* Automated weapons system
* Medium caliber deck gun (57MM) capable of stopping rogue merchant vessels far from shore
* Larger flight deck
* State-of-the-art Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) equipment enhancing interoperability between Coast Guard and U.S. Navy
* Detection and defense capabilities against chemical, biological, or radiological attack
* Advanced sensors for intelligence collection and sharing
* Real-time tracking and seamless Common Operational Picture/Maritime Domain Awareness
Any Mission, Anytime, Anywhere
At 418 feet, the lead ship in the new Legend-class of national security cutters is designed to be the flagship of the U.S. Coast Guard’s fleet, capable of executing the most challenging maritime security missions including supporting the mission requirements of the joint U.S. combatant commanders. The NSC is the largest and most technically advanced class of the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) program’s three major classes of cutters and will replace the aging 378' High Endurance Hamilton class cutters that have been in service since the 1960s.
Capability
Compared to legacy cutters, the NSC’s design will provide better sea keeping and higher sustained transit speeds, greater endurance and range, and the ability for launch and recovery, in higher sea states of improved small boats, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles – all key attributes in enabling the Coast Guard to implement increased security responsibilities. Such duties include exerting more effective jurisdiction over foreign-flagged ships transiting U.S. waters. Deepwater’s more capable maritime security cutters, for example, will enable the Coast Guard to screen and target vessels faster, more safely and reliably before they arrive in U.S. waters – to include conducting onboard verification through boardings and, if necessary, taking enforcement-control actions.The NSC will serve as an integral part of the Coast Guard’s collaborative inter-agency effort to achieve maritime domain awareness and ensure the safety of the American public and sovereignty of U.S. maritime borders.
Evolving Mission Requirements
Just as the multiple maritime and military roles of the U.S. Coast Guard have grown in scope and significance since the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States, so too have the NSC’s capability requirements evolved to be responsive to today’s ever-more challenging operational missions and threats. “ The Coast Guard’s Deepwater Program existed prior to 9/11”, said Blore at the keel-laying ceremony for “Waesche”, “as did our Coast Guard, as did this shipyard. For Deepwater to modernize and recapitalize the Coast Guard, we need to change with the threat.”
NSC Structural Design
Not atypically for a first-in-class ship, during the Coast Guard’s review of the NSC’s design from 2002 to 2004, concerns were raised about certain aspects of the ship’s structure that could prevent it from achieving its required 30-year service life. Specifically, Coast Guard and independent technical experts questioned whether some of the cutter’s structural components would experience fatigue damage prior to the service-life objective, a critical consideration given the extended, high-tempo operations expected of the NSC. After thorough review, the Coast Guard determined that it is in the U.S. Government’s interest to increase the fatigue tolerance of the NSC to ensure that the ship’s basic structures will meet its projected 30-year service life. Engineering changes to address the desired structural enhancements were developed in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and other naval engineering experts for approval by the Deepwater Program’s technical authority, the Engineering and Logistics Directorate at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
In the end, Coast Guard officials say, the NSC will be designed to achieve a 30-year fatigue life and built to deliver 21st Century capabilities to the Coast Guard in a way that will enhance the safety of its crew and allow the Coast Guard to execute its central missions more effectively, efficiently, and safely.
http://www.uscg.mil/