January 23, 2019 | Local, Naval
By Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence is pushing ahead with plans to extend the lives of Canada's submarine fleet, with the head of the navy hoping some work will start in the coming months.
The movement comes as countries around the world have stepped up investments in their submarine and anti-submarine fleets to protect their waters — and operate in waters not under their control.
Canada's four Victoria-class submarines have a troubled history since they were bought second-hand from Britain in 1998, with successive governments investing hundreds of millions of dollars in constant repairs and upgrades.
But in an interview with The Canadian Press, Royal Canadian Navy commander Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd said the diesel-powered submarines — HMCS Chicoutimi, Victoria, Corner Brook and Windsor — have finally turned a corner.
Lloyd specifically pointed to HMCS Chicoutimi's having recently spent 197 days in the Pacific and Asia even as HMCS Windsor was patrolling the Mediterranean with NATO as proof the submarines are living up to their potential.
"The fact we had two boats concurrently deployed, if that doesn't speak to the success of the program, I don't know what does," said Lloyd, who will retire from the military later this year after three years as navy commander.
The clock has been ticking on the four vessels: without upgrades, the first of the submarines will reach the end of its life in 2022, according to documents obtained through access to information, while the last will retire in 2027.
But the Liberals' defence policy promised to extend the lives of the vessels and Lloyd said defence officials are now working through the details to make sure they can continue to operate into the 2030s.
More extensive work is expected to start in about three or four years but Lloyd said efforts are underway to start implementing some minor upgrades by March.
Exactly how much upgrading all four submarines will cost remains uncertain, but Lloyd said the figure that officials are working with is about $2 billion.
Some experts have previously called for Canada to consider new submarines, rather than extending the lives of the ones it has, but the government has said upgrading the Victoria-class ships is more "prudent."
Other experts have said the country doesn't need such expensive vessels. But many other countries around the world are investing in submarine and antisubmarine fleets. NATO has specifically raised concerns about Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, while Canadian frigate commanders patrolling in the Atlantic and Mediterranean have reported more foreign submarines in recent years.
"The most proliferated weapon system right now on the planet are submarines," Lloyd said. "They by themselves can impact the outcome of a battle space. And so putting a submarine into a body of water instantly changes the calculus that are currently operating in those bodies of water."
Aside from upgrading its submarines, the Canadian military has started to return to its Cold War role as a leader in antisubmarine warfare in the North Atlantic by upgrading its frigates and maritime patrol planes and adding new maritime helicopters.
— Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter.
Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
July 10, 2023 | Local, Other Defence
Canada has quietly pushed to expand the definition of what counts toward NATO's military spending target of two per cent of a nation's gross domestic product (GDP).
March 10, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Security
A new Department of National Defence report says military search-and-rescue personnel were delayed and in some cases unable to provide emergency assistance on about one in 20 of the hundreds of calls they received last year. While some of the problems related to bad weather, animals on runways and having to wait for provincial medical teams to arrive, more than half were attributed to refuelling issues and breakdowns on the military's ancient search-and-rescue aircraft. The Canadian Armed Forces says the refuelling problems and breakdowns, which afflicted a total of 20 search-and-rescue missions, did not lead to any deaths. Yet they do raise questions about the military's ability to respond quickly to potentially life-threatening emergencies given the age of its search-and-rescue aircraft, some of which entered service in 1967. The Royal Canadian Air Force officially accepted the first of 16 new search-and-rescue planes from European manufacturer Airbus in December, but the aircraft is still in Spain where it was built and has yet to make the trip to Canada. The government has also said it plans to replace the air force's aging air-to-air refuelling tankers, but the first replacement isn't expected until 2028 at the earliest. https://globalnews.ca/news/6650860/military-search-rescue-mission-problems/
October 31, 2018 | Local, Aerospace
DANIEL LEBLANC Canada has modified the mandatory specifications for its next fleet of fighter jets to make it easier for European manufacturers to qualify for the $26-billion contract and foster more competition among five qualified bidders, federal officials said. Under the previous Conservative government, the requirements for the fighter jets could be met only by the Lockheed-Martin F-35 fighter jet, a stealth aircraft developed by an international coalition of countries including the United States, Britain and Canada. To allow for a competition, the current Liberal government asked National Defence to revise the requirements to allow more companies to qualify for the contract. In a briefing this week, federal officials said the government will give bidders additional leeway to meet the requirements, including those related to Canada's obligations with the United States as part of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). In particular, the requirements for secure communications between Canadian and American aircraft and other military assets were modified to give all potential bidders additional time to meet them. The changes are especially useful to European bidders (Dassault Aviation of France, Sweden's SAAB Aeronautics and British-based Airbus Defence), given that U.S.-based Lockheed-Martin and Boeing already play key roles in the U.S. military. “We obviously have NATO and NORAD commitments, with NORAD probably being the bigger one, which means we have significant security requirements that are Canada-U.S.,” said Pat Finn, the assistant deputy minister in charge of procurement at National Defence. When federal officials will analyze the various bids, he said, they will not automatically disqualify an aircraft that is unable to immediately meet the security requirements. “We can't have an aircraft that doesn't meet it, but what we've done is we've created the test in a different way ... If your proposal, your aircraft, cannot meet [a requirement] today, we are not saying automatically that you're out; but you have to tell us what is your solution to meet it, at what price and what schedule,” he said on Monday. The federal government said on Monday it was giving six weeks to interested bidders to provide comment on the draft request for proposals (RFP), which lays out all federal requirements for the fighter jets. The formal RFP is scheduled to be released in May, which will mark the launch of the official competition. One expert said American companies still have an advantage over their European rivals. “Whatever aircraft we obtain has to be fully, seamlessly interoperable at the highest levels with the American Air Force and the rest of the U.S. defence establishment, which is going to be tougher for Europeans to do than it would be for the Americans,” said Dave Perry, vice-president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “There's way to do that, but it would also imply additional cost and integration risk." Mr. Perry added he is puzzled by the federal government's assertion that Canada can remain a member of the F-35 development program, while insisting that Lockheed-Martin abide by the federal policy that calls on the winner of the competition to provide regional benefits equal to the full value of the contract. “The most economically efficient way to buy the [F-35] Joint Strike Fighter is to do so as a member of the partnership,” he said. “However, as a condition of being a member, you have to say that you won't apply offsets. I don't really know how the government is squaring those circles at all.” Conservative MP Rob Nicholson said the acquisition process for the new aircraft remains confusing more than three years after the Liberal took office. “The bottom line should be what is best for our Air Force and get on with it,” he said. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-changes-requirements-for-new-fighter-jets-to-help-european/