ESG completes FCDR of Offshore Patrol Cutter
Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) has successfully conducted the final critical design review (FCDR) with the US Coast Guard for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) programme, ESG announced on 9 July.
The FCDR, conducted in June, verified that the OPC detail design is integrated and internally consistent with the coast guard’s requirements and is a step toward the exercise of the contract option for construction of the first cutter.
The lead vessel is expected to be delivered in 2021. The coast guard has plans to acquire a total of 25 OPCs.
The OPC has been designed to conduct a wide range of missions and will provide a capability bridge between the National Security Cutter, which patrols the open ocean, and the Fast Response Cutter, which serves closer to shore.
The OPC can carry an MH-60R or MH-65 helicopter and three operational over-the-horizon small boats. The vessel is also fitted with a sophisticated combat system and C4ISR suite.
The next step for the programme is the production readiness review, which will take place at the end of July.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA
The accelerated delivery of the final Flight IIA destroyer, USS Patrick Gallagher, showcases the payoff of years of workforce investment and process reform at Bath Iron Works, with the lessons feeding into Flight III production.
-
Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development
Ukraine’s battlefield has rewritten the rules of uncrewed systems development. For Syos Aerospace, real-time operator feedback, lean serial production and a system-of-systems philosophy are central to its operating model.
-
AUKUS advance on UUVs contrasts with Virginia-class compromise
The AUKUS partnership is accelerating uncrewed undersea capability while its submarine arm inches forward, and Australia’s decision to settle for three in-service Virginia-class boats raises questions about industrial risk, dependency and whether Pillar II may deliver meaningful capability long before Pillar I can.
-
Peru partnership may serve as a template for South Korean naval exports into South America
With a growing pipeline of naval modernisation programmes in South America, South Korean companies could be set to expand their presence in the region as recent contract wins highlight growing collaboration.
-
AUKUS plan B? Japan’s submarines stopgap gains traction
Australia’s Collins-class life of type extension has revived debate over whether Canberra needs a contingency plan as risks to every stage of the AUKUS pathway mount. With Japan newly open to exports, the case for a diesel-electric stopgap is gaining traction.