C4ISR isn’t a single technology, but a suite of modular components including radar and electronic sensors; voice, chat, data, and satellite communications; automatic identification systems; data processing and analysis; weapons targeting and fire control; and operational support.

A major challenge of the 21st century’s dynamic and sometimes unpredictable operating environment is the unavoidable elasticity in demand for the Coast Guard. The service often has had a hard time figuring out just which assets and people it will need in a given location, at a future time. On June 14, 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, “Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Improve Strategic Allocation of Assets and Determine Workforce Requirements,” in which it pointed out that the mission needs of a given facility did not always align with the programmed hours for resources (i.e., people and equipment) to be available.

The CGC Waesche was the first NSC to make use of an upgraded C4ISR system, known as Sea Commander, which it demonstrated at the 2014 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise – the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, involving 22 partner nations. One noteworthy update to Waesche’s capabilities concerned the Link 11 Tactical Data Link System, which allows airborne, seagoing, and land-based tactical systems to share data over a radio signal. In one RIMPAC exercise, using Link 11, Waesche was able to transmit real-time sensor data – sensor tracking of an unmanned aerial target – to other ships, which then engaged and destroyed the target. The C4ISR program is at work on a newer, modified package of capabilities that will be installed on all national security cutters.

One reason the newer cutters and aircraft are so advanced is that they take advantage of the U.S. Navy’s investment in these technologies – which not only saves the Coast Guard money on design, but helps guarantee interoperability with Navy assets. The NSCs use electronic warfare systems, deck-mounted guns, and missile decoys already designed and installed on Navy ships. The mission system that will be used on many of the newer Coast Guard fixed-wing aircraft, including the Super Hercules and the Ocean Sentry, is the Minotaur Mission System Suite, a nose-to-tail modification to incorporate the C4ISR equipment and capabilities. The service’s version of Minotaur was developed jointly by the Coast Guard and the Naval Air Systems Command.

 

Figuring out Where to Put It All

A major challenge of the 21st century’s dynamic and sometimes unpredictable operating environment is the unavoidable elasticity in demand for the Coast Guard. The service often has had a hard time figuring out just which assets and people it will need in a given location, at a future time. On June 14, 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, “Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Improve Strategic Allocation of Assets and Determine Workforce Requirements,” in which it pointed out that the mission needs of a given facility did not always align with the programmed hours for resources (i.e., people and equipment) to be available.

The Coast Guard is in the process of implementing a system that automates many maintenance and ordering processes and helps drive logistical decisions. The Coast Guard Logistics Information Management System (CG-LIMS) will, in increments, replace and consolidate portions of the legacy asset management systems, allowing the Coast Guard to keep track of maintenance needs – in turn, increasing asset availability and operational efficiency while decreasing costs.

The first platform to implement the CG-LIMS as its primary maintenance software is the Ocean Sentry, and its success has led the Coast Guard to expand the system to support all its aircraft, cutters, boats, and some shore systems.

 

Attracting – and Keeping – the Nation’s Best

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, led to the creation of a new Cabinet-level department – the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard’s parent agency – and bigger and more complex roles for the service in its mission areas related to homeland defense and defense readiness.