U.S. Coast Guard Commissions New Rescue 21 System for Locating and Saving Distressed Boaters
Rescue 21 Will Serve as Primary Search and Rescue System for 95,000 Miles of Coastline
“It’s not only a life-saving maritime safety system to transform the Coast Guard’s ability to protect boaters and save lives at sea, it’s also a vital tool to enhance our day-to-day operations,” said U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thomas Collins, who also pointed out that the new system moves the Coast Guard “a quantum leap forward” in command and control capability.
Rescue 21 improves the Coast Guard’s ability to locate and assist distressed boaters by integrating digital technology for better direction finding capability, which improves response time and reliability. It uses towers along the coastline to increase communications coverage in coastal areas and improves interoperability with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and with first responders.
"Rescue 21 is a major component the US Coast Guard has needed for a very long time and is an absolute key aspect of search and rescue as it was originally intended. As the Coast Guard undertakes a greater role in protecting our waters and borders, Rescue 21 will significantly contribute to the success of their homeland security mission," said Chairman Frank LoBiondo (NR-2nd/N.J.) of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Rescue 21 will replace the Coast Guard’s aging National Distress and Response System (NDRS) built during the 1970s. Rescue 21 was officially commissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard on December 20 at a ceremony at the Coast Guard Air Station in Atlantic City, N.J. The nationwide rollout to 44 additional regions is slated for completion by 2011.
First Rescue
Maryland resident George Strawn credits the Coast Guard and the new system for his rescue. The boat in which he and two friends were fishing capsized off the coast of Ocean City, Md., in November. The boaters were able to send a mayday call before the boat overturned but Strawn was left clinging to the side of the boat about three miles outside Ocean City Inlet. Unknown to the boaters at the time, the Coast Guard was tapping into the advanced direction finding capability of the Rescue 21 system to access the location coordinates captured from the mayday call.
“We could see them circling north of us. Then all of a sudden instead of continuing north, they came directly toward us. They had contacted Chincoteague (Va.) using Rescue 21 coordinates that sent them straight to us. So Rescue 21 and some good Coast Guard personnel got me out of the water,” Strawn said.
About General Dynamics
General Dynamics C4 Systems is a leading integrator of secure communication and information systems and technology. With more than 11,000 employees worldwide, the company specializes in command and control, communications networking, space systems, computing and information assurance for defense, government and select commercial customers in the United States and abroad.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 71,900 people worldwide and had 2004 revenue of $19.2 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation.
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Any "forward-looking statements" contained in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
General Dynamics Corporation (ticker: GD, exchange: NYSE)
News Release - Friday, December 23, 2005
Press Contact: (480) 441-2885
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