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C4ISR problems could delay cutter construction

The Coast Guard may endure more delays in completing its inaugural national security cutter, the Bertholf, because of shielding and security problems with the ship’s command and communications suite, according to an announcement posted Monday on a Coast Guard Web site.

Inspections by the Coast Guard, contractors and the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command have “identified discrepancies that will be added to the list of [information assurance] remediation actions that need to be completed prior to final onboard testing,” the announcement said. “While there is some risk to Bertholf’s delivery schedule posed by resolution of these remediation actions, the government and industry are working collaboratively and proactively to aggressively address this risk.”

The news was the first time the Coast Guard appeared to confirm rumors, simmering for weeks around Capitol Hill and on the Internet, that the systems aboard the Bertholf did not comply with federal and Department of Defense information-security standards, known as TEMPEST. Spokespeople for the Coast Guard and contractor Lockheed Martin had separately denied to Navy Times that there would be problems with the C4ISR systems on the ship.

The announcement, signed by Rear Adm. David T. Glenn, assistant commandant and technical authority for Command, Control, Communications and Information Technology; and Capt. Leonard L. Ritter Jr. of the Office of Cyber Security and Telecommunications, appeared on the “Coast Guard Journal” blog, which debuted earlier in February with the redesigned Coast Guard Web site.

In an interview Tuesday with Navy Times, Ritter said that the “issues and discrepancies” included such things as cables not yet being grounded and tables or bulkheads not shielded enough to protect transmissions emanating from the communications gear. Some of the “issues” came from inspections that took place before the systems were installed. Ritter said senior Coast Guard officials and Integrated Coast Guard Systems would have to work out the details about whether those issues would delay the Bertholf’s delivery, which is scheduled for this spring, and whether they would be repaired before or after the Coast Guard accepted the ship.

ICGS spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said she expected the ship to adhere to its planned spring delivery and summer commissioning

“There is no risk to the Bertholf’s delivery schedule, and we are working with the Coast Guard to make sure the ship is delivered on schedule,” Mitchell said. From the perspective of the joint Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman concern, she said, the ship’s construction was proceeding apace.

Whether or not there are delays, the ship will be in “special commission status” when it enters the fleet, so that it can operate the systems it needs to get from the yard in Pascagoula, Miss., to its new homeport in Alameda, Calif. Until it satisfies the TEMPEST and information assurance requirements, the cutter cannot take on any Coast Guard missions.

Coast Guard officials have said they’re pleased with the way the Bertholf’s other systems, including its engines and weapons, performed on test trips into the Gulf of Mexico.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen, asked Feb. 14 after his annual state of the Coast Guard about the rumors of problems with the Bertholf, said he knew the cutter would only be able to take on its full mission set after it satisfied its “information assurance” requirements, but that he was confident the ship would be the lifesaving service’s best-ever first-in-class cutter.

Ritter said he believes that’s still the case.

“This is a: ‘here is the truth, we’re putting it out,’” Ritter said. “If we had published an article that said: ‘National security cutter, everything works on it, it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread’ — for one thing, everybody would rip that apart. But if you’re gonna say up front that, hey, this is a great cutter, it’s gone through builder’s trials and machinery trials, and actually it’s done pretty good on the systems that were operating then, and we’re really excited about adding this capability to our fleet. We know there are still some things to be worked on, but that’s not unusual, but we want people to know there are some things that need to be addressed, and we’re addressing them.”

DISCUSS: The issues with the cutter