In near-freezing waters and mountainous waves, speed and agility are essential to saving lives. Unfortunately, these two characteristics are slipping away from the Coast Guard's cutter fleet as its vessels age. Deputy pointed out that the power plants in the 378-foot class of cutters are reaching 35 years of age. Metal fatigue also has become a concern, he said, citing the rupture of a fire main aboard a cutter near Kodiak, Alaska, about 18 months ago. The subsequent flooding nearly filled a com- partment aboard the vessel.
Nobody thinks about metal fatigue aboard a ship, but that's what it is.
The piping is just too old. The Coast Guard hopes to alleviate these and other shortcomings with its Integrated Deepwater program, the service's largest-ever acquisition effort. The goal of the program is to upgrade or replace aging equipment with integrated surface, aviation, and communications assets across the entire spectrum of the Coast Guard's hardware inventory. A key element of the Deepwater program is the purchase of the systems and equipment needed to enhance the Coast Guard's aviation capabilities. Like the multimission service's surface vessels, Coast Guard aircraft are assigned a wide variety of missions besides search and rescue.