Maritime dominance requires the Coast Guard
Focusing on the Coast Guard's development can help the US match countries like China who have already moved on the trend.
Focusing on the Coast Guard's development can help the US match countries like China who have already moved on the trend.
“Revitalizing the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking capabilities is crucial for our security and prosperity, and today's announcement is an important step in that direction,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Gulf Cooperation Council countries are "one of the top export markets for ARES in the future,” ARES Shipyard CEO Oğuzhan Pehlivanli told Breaking Defense.
“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," said Sean Plankey, senior advisor on the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security secretary.
"Given the short timeframe in which this goal was achieved, it represents a significant success for Ankara and is poised to revolutionize its defense ties with these [Southeast Asian] nations," defense analyst Ali Bakir told Breaking Defense.
The White House in 2024 and 2025 prioritized rebuilding America's icebreaker fleet. But how long will that last?
A new big boss? A new big ship? 2025 held a lot of change for the sea services with even more foreshadowed coming in 2026 and beyond.
Earlier this year, the Coast Guard halted construction on two of the four Offshore Patrol Cutters that Eastern Shipbuilding was under contract to deliver.
Auditors noted the recent reconciliation legislation provided $3.7 billion to the Coast Guard to procure additional aircraft.
The US Coast Guard in recent months has been signaling to industry it would soon advance its Arctic Security Cutter program through a series of requests for information and discussions with vendors from multiple countries.
On this week's Break Out, the team discusses the move by the Coast Guard to name and shame China's movements around the US.
In its solicitation, the Defense Innovation Unit explicitly cited the border patrol mission that the White House has prioritized since taking office.
“We spent over two years looking at different shipyards in the US and potential acquisition targets,” Davie Defense CEO Kai Skvarla told Breaking Defense in an interview today.
The Chinese ship's "unannounced/seemingly unapproved presence" in American waters is "concerning and outside international norms," said a senior officer for an American icebreaker.