Coast Guard R&D Center Honored for Technology, Innovation Work

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) in New London, Conn., received the Coast Guard Unit Commendation for work spanning emerging technologies, unmanned systems, communications and search and rescue.

The award recognizes the RDC’s service from June 2023 through February 2026, a period in which its 82 military and civilian personnel executed 189 high-priority research projects and delivered 105 mission-critical products to Coast Guard operators and program offices.

Among the center’s most visible projects was the maritime integration of proliferated low-Earth orbit satellite communications. In 2023, RDC deployed the first fully functional underway Starlink terminal aboard polar icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB-20), including software and motion-compensation parameters enabling operation above 74 degrees north latitude. The evaluation helped drive broader deployment of broadband connectivity aboard Coast Guard cutters.

RDC also developed and fielded Counter-Uncrewed Aircraft System capabilities and conducted demonstrations integrating uncrewed air and maritime systems with operational Coast Guard assets. Trials in Caribbean trafficking corridors provided real-time intelligence to operations centers, while subsequent work examined UxS applications for northern border enforcement and reconnaissance.

Search-and-rescue research included testing the geo-fencing accuracy and over-water reliability of maritime public warning systems. Working with the U.S. Navy, RDC also conducted thermal-chamber and human-immersion