Integrated Deepwater System Program
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Illustated Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) Program |
The
Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) Program is the largest acquisition program in the history of the
United States Coast Guard. It includes upgrades to existing vessels and other assets of the USCG, new vessels ("platforms"), improved systems for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (C4ISR), and new methods for providing logistics support.
Three competing industry consortium teams bid on the Deepwater contract. Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS), a joint venture between
Lockheed Martin and
Northrop Grumman, was selected as the main contractor (systems integrator) for the program. The program's implementation plan says that Deepwater will be completed in approximately 20 years.
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Bell Eagle Eye, part of Deepwater. |
Deepwater has at times been the source of congressional tug-of-war and ideological battles over its funding. For fiscal year
2006,
President Bush requested funding of over $900 million, but the
House approved only $500 million. In September of 2005, the full
Congress did approve $900 million, just short of the President's original request.
The Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Deepwater since April 17, 2006, is
RADM Gary Blore. His predecessor, the "founding father of the IDS"m was RADM
Patrick M. Stillman.
The first major project of the Deepwater program was the stretching (conversion) of existing 110-foot cutters of the
Island class to 123 feet. The first vessel converted under the program was the
USCGC Matagorda. The work was done by HBJV, a joint venture between Bollinger and Halter Marine Inc. of
Gulfport, Mississippi, working as a sub-contractor to
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. Shortly after the
Matagorda reentered the fleet and arrived in its home port of
Key West, Florida, it developed a six-inch crack forward of its superstructure and a buckled hull on the starboard side.
The Coast Guard originally planned to convert all 49 of its 110-foot cutters, but structural flaws found in the initally-converted boats caused the Coast Guard to scuttle the program after eight conversions. At least two more of the converted cutters have also experience hull deformations.
In August 2006, a man claiming to have been the C4ISR systems engineering lead for the project posted a video on on the Web site YouTube.com, alleging problems with the boats' surveillance and communications systems, and his inability to get Lockheed Martin or government officials to seriously investigate his claims. The claimed problems include blind spots in the ships' surveillance systems, and a communications system vulnerable to eavesdropping.
[Patricia Kime, "Video alleges security problems on converted cutters", Navy Times, August 7, 2006]A key part of the Deepwater system is the Maritime Security Cutter, Large (WMSL) --
Legend-class cutters. These cutters are designed to replace the 378-foot (115 m) high-endurance cutters currently on duty. They will have a length of 421 feet (128 m), be powered by a
gas turbine engine with two auxiliary
diesel engines, and be capable of 12,000 nautical mile (22,000 km) voyages lasting up to 60 days.
The keel laying of the
USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750), the first ship in this class, took place in September 2004. The ship is scheduled to be delivered in 2007. The second keel (WMSL-751) was laid in 2005, though the ship is yet to be named.
Another key vessel in the program is the Maritime Security Cutter, Medium (WMSM), which will be 341 ft (104 m) long, displace 2,921 tons (2968 tonnes), and be capable of 45-day patrols of up to 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km). Both the WMSL and the WMSM cutters will be able to carry two helicopters or four
VTOL Unmanned Air Vehicles (VUAVs), or a combination of these.
The
Fast Response Cutter is another part of the Deepwater program. At 140 feet it is similar to, but slightly larger than 123 foot extended
Island Class cutters, like the
USCGC Matagorda.
Another part of the Deepwater program is the
USCG Short Range Prosecutor, a 7 metre, high speed launch designed to be launched from cutters, at speed, from a rear launching ramp. The Short Range Prosecutor is a rigid hull inflatable, powered by water-jets, for intercepting and boarding suspect vessels. It mounts a radar, special shock-proof seats, and can travel at 30 knots.
The refitted Island class patrol cutters carry one Short Range Prosecutor; they will also be carried by other classes of vessels.
The
Bell Eagle Eye is a
tiltrotor unmanned aerial vehicle produced by
Bell Helicopter which will enter service in the
U.S. Coast Guard as part of the Deepwater program. It may also enter service with the
U.S. Navy and
U.S. Marine Corps. Development began in 1993; it entered the Deepwater program in 2002 as the TR918.
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Deepwater program official site
