Coast Guard aviation in transition

The U.S. Coast Guard is embarking on a transformation of leviathan proportions, moving to reshape itself as a modem military force capable of defending the country's shores from terrorists. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks propelled the USCG to the forefront of border security and eventually led to the decision to shift the service from the Department of Transportation to the new Department of Homeland Security. While this is not really a "new" mission, the Coast Guard has a long tradition of service with respect to military and security missions including duty in WWII, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf conflict. The assets used to perform these missions must be transformed quickly and safely to attain all mission objectives.

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Well before the attack of 9/11 and the move to create the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard embarked on a project to recapitalize its major assets: surface, aviation, and C4ISR, through an innovative effort labeled the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) project. In June 2002 the Coast Guard announced that Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS), a consortium led by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, was the winner of the contract.

This article provides a review of this transformation. It is a compilation of sections written by Coast Guard Aircraft Platform Managers who are Coast Guard Officers assigned to the Office of Aviation Forces at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. They are obviously (and appropriately!) proud of "their" aircraft.

HH-65

After over 15 years of service, the Coast Guard's HH-65 Dolphin fleet will be given a boost in avionics and power. As a result of two significant upgrades, the aircraft configuration and procedures will drastically change from the original "A" design, prompting the new designations, HH-65B and HH-65C. The HH-65A, a modification of Eurocopter's civilian AS 366 N1 Dauphin, has served the Coast Guard well as its short-range recovery (SRR) helicopter and premier shipboard assset. With 95 airframes in the current inventory, the HH65 is the Coast Guard's most numerous platform, flying over half of the service's 100,000 programmed flight hours. Due to its composite construction, the HH-65 has no airframe service life, unlike all of the other Coast Guard platforms, and therefore, it has been decided to invest in its fleet of Dolphins with major upgrades to keep it a viable and productive asset for many more years.

The HH-65 has recently reached a plateau for use as the SRR helicopter. First activated in 1985 at Air Station New Orleans, the HH-65A took pride in being an "off the shelf," highly advanced civilian aircraft modified for military and multi-mission use. Most of its avionics are the original equipment designed in the 1970s, and since that time, computer technology has evolved dramatically. Our original Mission Computer Unit (MCU) is antiquated and increasingly expensive to support. In an aircraft that has gained almost 800 pounds with no substantial power growth, it became apparent that the Coast Guard needed to modernize and miniaturize some of its components. The MCU was identified as one of the heaviest pieces of gear in the avionics rack and desperately needed replacement with a lighter, smaller, and more powerful unit. Rockwell Collins was chosen to produce the CDU-900, the new mission computer, increasing core memory from 64kb to 4MB and speeds 40 times faster than the old MCU. Hence the HH-65B was born.

Each Computer Display Unit (pilot & copilot) is capable of controlling the data bus if the other should fail. The GPS navigational system is embedded into both units for dual GPS capability at 1/8 the weight of the original MCU and GPS systems (about 93 pounds saved). The receiver tracks five satellites and provides feedback on signal strength and satellite selection. The GPS unit has selective availability, anti-spoof security features, and is integrated with the mission data loader (MDL), having over 20,000 waypoints which can be programmed by the unit's digital flight planning stations. Additionally, the forward lower half of the avionics rack can now be removed due to this upgrade, noticeably increasing the cabin space. With the new displays' (now color) NVG compatibility, even the bright warning lights do not "white out" the pilots' goggles. This is due to an NVG filter and a dimmer knob on the control panel that, unlike the older model, allows for smooth and precise brightness adjustment. The Coast Guard is almost halfway through its fleet-wide Bravo-model transition, due to be completed in early 2005.

While the avionics upgrade will be a great improvement, there remains a need for a substantial power increase to accommodate the increased weight that has been added over the last 15 years. In addition, new requirements stemming from missions being thrust upon the USCG in support of Homeland Security require more power for the HH-65. The USCG is prototyping an HH-65 with Turbomeca Arriel 2C2 turboshaft engines. This engine configuration will provide approximately 40% more power than the currently installed engines providing significantly improved singleengine fly-out capability for over-water operations as well as increasing endurance, range and payload. Also, in response to the increased threats against our country after 9/11, the USCG is exploring arming all Coast Guard helicopters to support Homeland Security missions. This increased weight of arming and armoring, as well as the increased power demand for tactics goes hand-inhand with this Power Increase project. The increased power HH-65C is currently undergoing testing and evaluation and could be ready for fleet-wide implementation in Fall 2003, if funding becomes available. Conceivably, the HH-65 community will see three distinctly different versions of their aircraft through 2006 until the "A" and "B" models are fully phased out.