Equipment of the United States Coast Guard

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The United States Coast Guard uses cutters and small boats on the water, and fixed- and rotary wing (helicopters) aircraft in the air. They also use a variety of firearms, including handguns, rifles and machine guns.

1 Cutters
2 Aircraft
3 Boats
4 Small arms
5 Communications
6 See also
7 Notes

[edit] Cutters

Originally, the Coast Guard used the term cutter in its traditional sense, as a type of small sailing ship. Today it officially uses the term for any vessel which has a permanently assigned crew and accommodations for the extended support of that crew, although informally this is held to mean any vessel of 65 foot or more in length.^[1]

Larger cutters (over 180 feet (55 m) in length) are controlled by Area Commands (Atlantic Area or Pacific Area). Smaller cutters come under control of District Commands. Cutters usually carry a motor surf boat and/or a rigid-hulled inflatable boat. Polar-class icebreakers (WAGB) carry an Arctic Survey Boat (ASB) and Landing Craft. The CGC Ahi is the last 87-foot cutter to be added to the Coast Guard fleet.

Currently, the Coast Guard is leasing five PC-179 coastal patrol ships from the U.S. Navy; two (including CGC Monsoon) operate from San Diego and three from Pascagoula, Mississippi. These vessels are used primarily for counterdrug patrols. ^[2]

Any Coast Guard crew with officers or petty officers assigned has law-enforcement authority (14 USC Sec. 89) and can conduct armed boardings.

378-foot High Endurance Cutter (WHEC) USCGC Hamilton, commissioned in 1967 (U.S. Coast Guard Photo)

For a complete list of Cutters see: United States Coast Guard Cutter

Polar-class icebreaker (WAGB): There are three WAGB's, all home ported in Seattle, Washington. Two are 399-foot icebreakers (the Polar Sea and the Polar Star), and one a newer 420-foot icebreaker, the Healy.

High Endurance Cutter (WHEC): These are 378 feet along the waterline. There are 12 WHECs (homeports are: Charleston, South Carolina (2); Seattle, Washington (2); Alameda, California (4); San Diego, California (2); and Honolulu, Hawaii (2).)

USCGC Mackinaw (WLBB-30): The Mackinaw is a 240 foot heavy icebreaker built for operations on the North American Great Lakes and home ported at Cheboygan, Michigan.

USCGC Eagle (WIX-327): The Eagle is home ported at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. It is used for training voyages for Coast Guard Academy cadets and Coast Guard officer candidates. The USCGC Eagle was built in Germany as the Horst Wessel, and was seized by the United States as a prize of war in 1945.

Medium Endurance Cutter (WMEC): These are mostly 210-foot and 270-foot cutters, although three "mature" class cutters fall into the WMEC category (the Alex Haley, the Acushnet, and the Storis—all stationed in Alaska).

Seagoing Buoy Tender (WLB): There are 16 Juniper-class buoy tenders being commissioned.

[edit] Aircraft

A USCG HC-130 Hercules near Oahu

The Guard owns about 210 aircraft. Fixed-wing aircraft, such as (HC-130 Hercules turboprops and HU-25 Guardian jets) operate from Air Stations on long-duration missions. Helicopters (HH-65 Dolphin, HH-60 Jayhawk, and MH-68 Stingray) operate from Air Stations, Air Facilities, and flight-deck equipped cutters, and can rescue people or intercept smuggling vessels.

The Coast Guard flies five aircraft types:

HC-130 Hercules
HU-25 Falcon / Guardian ^[3]
HH-60 Jayhawk ^[4]
HH-65 Dolphin
MH-68 Stingray, flown by the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) based in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Coast Guard is planning to purchase 36 CASA CN-235 from Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) for medium range search. As of February 2, 2006, the first of the aircraft are under construction for delivery in early 2007. ^[5]

The Coast Guard is also purchasing Bell Eagle Eye UAVs as part of the Deepwater program. ^[6]

In addition to regular Coast Guard aircraft, privately-owned general aviation aircraft are used by Coast Guard Auxiliarists for patrols and search-and-rescue missions.

[edit] Boats

USCG motor life boat escorting the Spirit of Ontario I Fast Ferry into the port of Rochester, New York on 2004-08-08

A Coast Guard 25-foot Defender-class boat from Station Seattle enforces a security zone around a Washington State Ferry in Elliot Bay December 22, 2003.

The Coast Guard operates about 1,400 boats, defined as any vessel not designated as a cutter (traditionally less than 65 feet (20 meters) in length), which generally operate near shore and on inland waterways. The most common is 41 feet (12.5 meters) long, of which the Guard has more than 200; the shortest is 12 feet (4 meters).

The Coast Guard boat fleet includes:

Arctic Survey Boat (ASB)

Motor Life Boat (MLB)

Utility Boat (UTB)

Deployable Pursuit Boat (DPB)

Aids to Navigation Boats (TANB/BUSL/ANB/ANB)

Transportable Port Security Boat (TPSB): 25-foot (7.6-meter) boat, based on the commercial version of the 25-foot center-console Boston Whaler, suitable for work in inland waters, easily transportable by trailer. These are primarily used by Port Security Units for force protection in naval support areas abroad, as well as, ports of embarkation/debarkation in expeditionary areas. Most recently these boats and units were deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The durability, versatility, and mobility of these boats make them ideal for this type of operation.

Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHI): a rigid-hulled inflatable boat, powered by a gasoline outboard motor or an inboard/outboard diesel engine. The RHI can be easily deployed from a cutter with a four-point bridle for davit lifting and lowering. The RHI's portability and ruggedness allow it to be used on many kinds of missions.

USCG Short Range Prosecutor (SRP): A 7-meter (23-foot) launch that can be launched from a rear launching ramp, at speed.

USCG Long Range Interceptor (LRI): An 11-meter (36-foot) high-speed launch that can be launched from the rear ramps of the larger Deepwater cutters.

USCG Defender: A 25-foot (7.6 meter) high speed boat, for a variety of missions, including search and rescue, port security and constabulary duties. First introduced in 2003, the plan is to acquire 700 Defender class boats to replace nonstandard boats and platforms at Coast Guard stations.

On June 23, 2006 the Commandant of the Coast Guard announced ^[7] that the Coast Guard has signed a multi-year contract for 180 "Response Boat Medium" boats that will be delivered starting in 2008 to replace the UTB boats. These aluminum boats will be about 45 feet (13.7 meters) in length, have twin diesel engines (total 1650 HP), be self-righting, have four crew, six passenger capacity, be equipable with two .50 caliber machine guns, have an excellent fendering system, have a top speed of 42 knots, and be capable of towing a 100 ton vessel in eight foot seas.

[edit] Small arms

From 1986 until 2006, Coast Guardsmen on patrol were armed with Beretta M9 9 mm pistols. The Coast Guard has transitioned to the .40 S&W caliber SIG-Sauer P229R DAK, completing the changeover as of April 2006. Other small arms include the M16A2 rifle and M4 Carbine variant, as well as the Remington 870 police magnum riot shotgun, from which the Coast Guard employs both lethal and non-lethal rounds. The Coast Guard recently replaced the M60 Machine gun with the FN M240 machine gun, which is typically mounted on vessels, aircraft, or used in shoreside machine-gun emplacements. Many Coast Guard units are also equipped with the .50 caliber M2 machine gun. Weapons above .50 caliber are considered "weapons systems", rather than "small arms". ^[8]

[edit] Communications

Coast Guard radio stations cover a wide geographical area using both very high frequency, high frequency, and medium frequency radios. There are eight major radio stations covering long-range transmissions and an extensive network of VHF radio stations along the nation's coastline and inland rivers.

The OMEGA navigation system and the LORAN-C transmitters outsid the USA were run until 1994 also by the United States Coast Guard.