SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – General Dynamics C4 Systems announces that the U.S.
Coast Guard completed the 25,000th Rescue 21 search and rescue mission in
Sector San Francisco, a major milestone for the system that the company says
has helped to save hundreds of lives since it was activated in 2005.
Currently comprising 26 command centers, 179 towers and
covering approximately 37,000 miles of coastline, Rescue 21’s primary mission
is to locate and assist mariners in distress. General Dynamics C4 Systems is
the prime contractor for the Rescue 21 system.
“The Coast Guard is an integral part of the Department of
Homeland Security,” said Michael O’Hara, program manager for Rescue 21 for General
Dynamics C4 Systems in a company press release. “As new sectors are added to
the Rescue 21 system, the Coast Guard is better equipped to perform both
life-saving and homeland security missions with greater agility and increased
efficiency.”
Rescue 21 enables the Coast Guard to perform the functional
tasks of command, control and communications along United States inland and
coastal zones including the Great Lakes, Hawaii, Guam and Puerto Rico. The
integrated system of command centers, towers and advanced direction-finding
technology, detects and locates distress calls and can detect hoax calls,
avoiding unnecessary and expensive tasking of rescue personnel and resources.
The U.S. Coast Guard recently opened the Yerba Buena Island Interagency Operations Center in the San Francisco Bay area, the company reports. The event also marked the
acceptance of the Coast Guard's Rescue 21 communications system, which was
incorporated into the new command center at Sector San Francisco.