Legacy Cutter Upgrades - Phase I
The crew of the 270-foot medium-endurance cutter USCGC Seneca visited
Alexandria, Va., in late March 2006, and hosted open-house tours of their
ship. The Boston-based crew was proud to show off their upgraded
command-and-control suite to visitors, which was modernized as part of
the Integrated Deepwater
System sustainment plan. According to a recent Navy Times interview with
Seneca watch officer Electronics Technician 1st Class Ryan Kowalske, “In
the last year, we’ve seen 10 years’ worth of improvements to
our technology. ”
ECWAN (Step 1)
Enterprise Communications Wide Area Network (ECWAN) includes a classified local area network (LAN) installed on the cutter with access to Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET), a classified wide area network. It provides classified chat, web-browsing, e-mail, computing environment and color printing. All 39 cutters have Enterprise Communications Wide Area Network. Cutters report SIPRNET access had greatly increased their ability to communicate in the classified environment.
AIS (Step 2)
Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a shipboard broadcast system operating in the VHF Marine Band. It improves situational awareness as vessels automatically exchange navigational status, position, speed, heading, and vessel identification information. Prototype evaluations on CGC Northland and CGC Dependable reported significant improvement in maritime domain awareness (MDA) and traffic safety in the maritime environment.
INMARSAT B (Step 2)
INMARSAT (global mobile satellite communications) B upgrade will allow cutters to double the data throughput by increasing it to 128kpbs and allow shared bandwidth 24/7 by giving access to Inmarsat Variable Bandwidth Service (VBS). Initial Reports from CGC Escanaba indicate greatly improved throughput and ability to access mission essential applications.
Law Enforcement Radio (Step 2)
Law/Marine Digital Selective Calling (DSC) Mutliband (VHF/UHF) Radio upgrade will be installed on the 378’s only and increases communication capabilities with other law enforcement agencies. It has been installed on CGC Chase as a prototype and includes four different radios.