Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division announced on September 14, 2020 the successful completion of builder’s sea trials for the U.S. Coast Guard’s newest National Security Cutter (NSC), USCGC Stone (WMSL-758). The ship spent three days in the Gulf of Mexico testing propulsion and auxiliary equipment, as well as various shipboard systems.
«Every successful sea trial is a major accomplishment for our shipbuilders, but this set proved to be a particularly substantial undertaking», said Jay Boyd, Ingalls’ NSC program manager. «Since the year began, our team has persevered through every challenge. Learning through each obstacle presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSC team has worked tirelessly to ensure the Coast Guard receives another high performance cutter to help protect our nation».
In the weeks preceding NSC-9 builder’s trials, safety precautions were put in place to minimize the potential risk of COVID-19 to participants while at sea. The number of shipboard riders was reduced by one-third to allow for adequate social distancing. Those allowed onboard were tested for COVID-19 one week prior to sail, and were screened the morning of departure. Masks were required at all times, food services were staggered, and in addition to the cutter’s regular cleaning regimen, each individual received their own personal supplies to clean their way in and out of spaces onboard the ship.
Ingalls has delivered eight Legend-class NSCs with two more under construction, and one additional under contract. USCGC Stone (WMSL-758), the ninth NSC, is scheduled for delivery later this year.
NSC-9 was named to honor Coast Guard officer Commander Elmer «Archie» Fowler Stone, Coast Guard aviator number one, who made history in 1919 for being one of two Coast Guard pilots in the four man air crew who completed the first transatlantic flight in a Navy seaplane.
The Legend-class NSC is the largest, most technologically advanced ship in the Coast Guard’s fleet, which enables it to meet the high demands required for maritime and homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defense missions. NSCs are 418 feet/127 meters long with a top speed of 28 knots/32 mph/52 km/h, a range of 12,000 NM/13,809 miles/22,224 km, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 120.
Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division supports national security missions around the globe with unmanned systems, defense and federal solutions, and nuclear and environmental services. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 42,000 people operating both domestically and internationally.
Facts
| Displacement | 4,500 long tons |
| Length | 418 feet/127 m |
| Beam | 54 feet/16 m |
| Speed | 28 knots/32 mph/52 km/h |
| Range | 12,000 NM/13,809 miles/22,224 km |
| Endurance | 60 days |
| Crew | 120 |
| Equipped with | Mk-110 57-mm turret mounted gun |
| 6 × 12.7-mm/.50 caliber machine guns | |
| 3D air search radar | |
| 2 level 1, class 1 aircraft hangers | |
| A stern launch ramp for mission boats | |
| Aviation carried | (2) MCH, or (4) Vertical-Launch Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (VUAV) or (1) MCH and (2) VUAV |
| Stern launch | Two cutter boats (Long Range Interceptor and/or Short Range Prosecutor) |
| Electronic Warfare and Decoys | AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare System, Two Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures (SRBOC)/2 NULKA countermeasures chaff rapid decoy launcher |
| Communications | HF, VHF & UHF |
| Sensors and Processing Systems | X and S band radar, 3D air search radar, AN/SPQ-9 radar, Identification, Friend or Foe (IFF) |
Ship list
| Ship | Hull Number | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned |
| Bertholf | WMSL-750 | 03-29-2005 | 09-29-2006 | 08-04-2008 |
| Waesche | WMSL-751 | 09-11-2006 | 07-12-2008 | 05-07-2010 |
| Stratton | WMSL-752 | 07-20-2009 | 07-23-2010 | 03-31-2012 |
| Hamilton | WMSL-753 | 09-05-2012 | 08-10-2013 | 12-06-2014 |
| James | WMSL-754 | 05-17-2013 | 05-03-2014 | 08-08-2015 |
| Munro | WMSL-755 | 10-07-2013 | 09-12-2015 | 04-01-2017 |
| Kimball | WMSL-756 | 03-04-2016 | 12-17-2016 | 08-24-2019 |
| Midgett | WMSL-757 | 01-27-2017 | 11-22-2017 | 08-24-2019 |
| Stone | WMSL-758 | 09-14-2018 | 10-04-2019 | |
| Calhoun | WMSL-759 | |||
| Friedman | WMSL-760 |
USCG national security cutter Stone on builder’s sea trials