US Coast Guard HC-144A deliveries remain on-track
A new HC-144A Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft has been delivered by Airbus Defense and Space (D&S) to the US Coast Guard, bringing the fleet total to 17 HC-144A aircraft.
This is the second of three HC-144As planned for delivery in 2014. The aircraft will join the fleet operating from Coast Guard Air Stations in Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Mobile, Alabama; and Miami, Florida; where it will perform a range of maritime patrol missions, including search and rescue, homeland security and disaster response.
Ocean Sentry is based on the Airbus D&S CN235 tactical airlifter. The aircraft are supplied to the coast guard equipped with a search radar, electro-optical and infrared cameras, an Automatic Identification System for data collection from vessels at sea, and a communications suite.
The Coast Guard is planning to stand up the fourth HC-144A air station in Corpus Christi, Texas, later this year. In total up to 36 of these maritime patrol aircraft will be acquired by the US Coast Guard.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear]()
Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear
The US Navy does not have a precise date for the award of the procurement contract for the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer despite having the funds to advance with the programme in FY2025.
-
![US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes]()
US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes
The US Navy (USN) is currently reassessing its acquisition efforts and seeking ways to reduce the multiple delays across the shipbuilding initiatives.
-
![Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule]()
Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule
The Royal Australian Navy has finally commissioned the first Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel – more than three years behind schedule – highlighting the programme’s delays, design compromises and ongoing industrial restructuring.
-
![Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates]()
Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates
The Italian Navy is being refreshed with two new ships ordered, while in the past six months steel was cut for a new frigate, an enhanced frigate was delivered and Horizon-class frigates passed a design review.
