CG wants ScanEagles for NSCs

For the past 17 years, the Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center has experimented with various types of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), including a helicopter drone and MQ-1 Predator, for cutters, but found all unsuited for the CG’s dual mission of national security and law enforcement. In 2018, the CG tested a ScanEagle UAS aboard the cutter Stratton on a six-week deployment to the Eastern Pacific. Those commanders who have used ScanEagle have told Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz they “don't ever want to sail without ScanEagle again," he told the National Press Club on Dec. 7. The commandant proclaimed that all CG National Security Cutters (NSC) should have ScanEagle drones aboard and available for launch to boost high seas surveillance and aid in drug interdictions and arrests. "I'd like to see every (NSC) have one on the back." ScanEagle is made by Boeing subsidiary Insitu. It was developed from a commercial version designed to collect weather data and scan the ocean for fish. The CG version is about eight feet long, with a wingspan of 16 feet. In June, Insitu announced a $117M contract with the CG for the installation of ScanEagles aboard cutters. The fate of the UAS plan depends on the outcome of upcoming budget battles in Congress. (Source: Military.com 12/10/18) Gulf Coast Note: Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Miss., is the sole builder of Legend Class National Security Cutters. The first five ships in the NSC class have all been delivered. NSC 6 Munro (WMSL 755), NSC 7 Kimball (WMSL 756) and NSC 8 Midgett (WMSL 757) are still in the finishing stages.