An internally triggered inspection of the National Security Cutter (NSC) by the U.S. Coast Guard has found no major issues with the level of workmanship on the NSC, especially over systems that would carry classified information, but top officials have acknowledged design problems that must be corrected by contractors.

"Everything will be done before the first piece of classified material ever runs on this ship," Coast Guard Adm. Ronald Rabago, director of acquisition programs, told Aerospace Daily in an interview at Coast Guard headquarters Sept. 27.

The Coast Guard recently brought in a team of inspectors who conduct "Tempest" Certification Program (TCP) tests for the National Security Agency (NSA) to evaluate the ship as it is being built.

"We wanted to get ahead of any potential Tempest issues," Rabago said. "This will all be resolved. We take Tempest certification very, very seriously. We are not going to operate a system unless it meets all the requirements."

The Coast Guard has identified NSC as a potential risk area, which is what triggered the requirement for an independent evaluation. A number of discrepancies were uncovered, but the Coast Guard stresses that none are associated with significant problems regarding potential classified emanations.

Rabago defines the discrepancies in two ways: the first are minor issues such as "label not on wire" whereas others are design issues "associated with where wires are run and how close together," he offered as an example.

Michael Tangora, Coast Guard deputy assistant commandant for acquisition, said the visual inspection is a "risk reduction measure." Measurement tests are conducted once the ship is "complete and energized," he said. "This test was done when all the equipment isn't hooked up. All I'm looking for is, are there locks on doors, are cables run correctly, are there label plates on the cables?"

The point of the test, both men told The DAILY, was to uncover problems early in the process and fix issues now rather than wait until the time for delivery gets closer. "This is an iterative process," Rabago said. "This is no different from bringing any other military ship online."

The list of discrepancies has been provided to both first-tier contractors on the NSC, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. "These [issues] are all correctable," said Rabago. "We've asked [the contractors] to take the list and begin to work on it."

Northrop has already placed the discrepancies into its trial card data system and started to resolve the issues, Rabago added. Lockheed faces design issues, and they are "engaged, and have already begun" to address them, he said.

"Do we expect a clean bill of health when we test again?" Tangora said. "We'll probably find more stuff. This is a normal course of events, especially when you bring a first-of-class ship online. This is when you're learning all your problems."

Tangora said that design issues cited include cabinet shielding. "We're taking tests on cabinets early, and we found emanations," he said. "But these are not classified emanations. We're just pumping electricity and signals through [the cabinet]. If there are problems, we're correcting them." The NSC is, he added, "the most capable C4ISR ship the Coast Guard has ever built."