SURFACE NAVY 2026 — The Coast Guard intends to spend the entirety of its $25 billion payment from last year’s reconciliation bill by the end of the year, a top official said Wednesday while spelling out a list of shipbuilding needs that includes more icebreakers and a new version of the National Security Cutter.
“By January 1, 2027, we want all $25 billion obligated,” Sean Plankey, senior advisor on Coast Guard issues to the Department of Homeland Security secretary, said during a speech at the Surface Navy Association’s national symposium. “Many of you might say, ‘Well, why would you do that? It’s five-year money.’”
“The taxpayer expects us to use that money to invest for the American public,” he said. “If we’re just sitting on the accounts, and we’re waiting on the requirements, we’re figuring things out, it’s not going to change the service to be the service that America needs.”
So far, the Coast Guard has spent about $7.7 billion of its reconciliation funds after announcing contracts in December for six medium icebreakers, known formally as Arctic Security Cutters, Plankey said.
Under the deal, Rauma Marine Constructions will build up to two ASCs in Finland, with the first delivered in 2028, while Bollinger Shipyards builds up to four ASCs in the United States, with the first to be delivered in 2029, according to a Coast Guard news release. (Another five ASCs are expected to be built by Canada-based Davie Shipbuilding, reported National Defense Magazine.)
To meet operational needs in the Northern Hemisphere and Antarctic, the Coast Guard will need “seven more” for a total of 18 Arctic Security Cutters, said Plankey, who did not detail whether reconciliation funds would be used to put those ships on contract.
Another potential requirement is a follow-on to the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutters. The Coast Guard has purchased 10 NSCs, and the Trump administration announced last year that the Navy would adapt the NSC design to become its next frigate.
That could give the Coast Guard an opportunity to start thinking about buying an upgraded “National Security Cutter 2.0,” Plankey said.
“We’re within the inside of 10 years [for the] end of life on those National Security Cutters,” he said. “We need 2.0 on those National Security Cutters, and we know we need more than 10. I mean, by my estimates, I think we need 20-ish, maybe more than 20.”