HALIFAX — Irving Shipyard in Halifax has begun cutting steel plates for 15 new Canadian destroyers, although the Navy says it will be a decade before the first 8,000-tonne ship joins military operations.
On Friday, in front of hundreds of Halifax shipbuilders, Defense Minister Bill Blair also announced that the 15 future warships have received their official designation as “River-class destroyers.” The first three ships will thus bear the names of great Canadian rivers — Saint Lawrence, Fraser and Mackenzie — also a tribute to Canadian warships which bore these same names during the Second World War.
These 15 “Canadian combat ships” are to replace the already decommissioned Iroquois-class destroyers and the Halifax-class frigates, National Defence indicates.
However, the first of the ships – equipped with advanced missile systems and radar – won’t be capable of operating in the Royal Canadian Navy until 2035, with nine of the destroyers expected by 2040 and all 15 by 2050, officials said at a news briefing Thursday evening.
Federal acquisition officials said Thursday that final, detailed contracts for the first three destroyers had not yet been signed with Irving — and would not be formally awarded until late 2024 or early 2025.
Mr Blair nevertheless touted the first stages of construction as “historic”, while emphasizing the urgency of building the destroyers.
“It is important to replace the Halifax frigates,” he said. “They are reaching the end of their life cycle and their maintenance is becoming increasingly expensive.”
Avoid further delays
Dave Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute in Ottawa, said he was pleased to see the project moving forward after years of delays.
“These ships will represent a truly significant increase in Canada’s naval capability,” he said in an interview Thursday, adding that they will improve the country’s ability to conduct all types of submarine warfare and participate in forces. NATO naval operations.
But he also urged that the contracts be signed before the next federal election to avoid further delays. “This government has a very short time left and a lot of unfinished business,” he said.
Mr Blair said on Friday he expected the deal to be finalized as long as the Liberal government remains in power.
“The Royal Canadian Navy and the Irving shipyard need this contract to be concluded (…) I am convinced that we will achieve it before the elections,” promised the Liberal minister.
Richard Shimooka, a research fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa, said in an interview Thursday that while the navy is in dire need of new ships, its production schedule is not out of step with other countries building similar classes of ships.
“We would all like the turnaround times to be faster, but it will probably take just as long (…) It is difficult to consider other options to get something done faster,” he said.
Conception
Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee said in Halifax on Friday that the Canadian ships, based on the BAE Type 26 model used in the United Kingdom and Australia, are heavier than their counterparts due to changes in their design.
The navy commander said the River-class destroyers have a radar – considered the heart of the modern warship – located higher in the ship than on its Australian and British counterparts. This requires the use of a power supply, cooling system and other supporting machinery, which adds 900 tonnes.
Mr Topshee also said that while the Australian and British Type 26 ships are primarily intended to act as anti-submarine escorts, the River class will be required to defend against air attack and potentially oversee the command and control of other vessels.
Although the final design of the ships has not been completed, the first production of steel plates has started in order to move the project forward, it is said.
On Friday, the Halifax shipyard began producing and testing what it calls “thin-plate” steel, which will eventually be used in the destroyers. The steel is thinner than the material in the Arctic patrol ships being built at the yard. Topshee told reporters that actual production of the steel that will be used in the first destroyer built — HMCS Fraser — will begin between April and October 2025.
The neglected armed forces
James Bezan, the Conservative Party’s defence critic, said in an email that the timeline for the bill is a reminder that the Liberals have neglected the military. The Liberal government “has failed to recruit enough sailors … Our warships are rusting and aging faster than expected, leaving our navy incapable,” he wrote.
Inflation and additional navy needs have pushed up the cost of the destroyers. While Bill Blair and defence officials continue to say construction will cost $60 billion, the parliamentary budget officer has suggested that by 2022 it could be $80 billion.
In a press release, National Defense highlighted the economic benefits of the project, which “will promote the sustainable growth of Canada’s maritime supply chain. The design phase of the project is expected to generate an impact of more than $5.1 billion on cumulative gross domestic product, and will create or maintain approximately 5,000 Canadian jobs annually throughout the economy.
For its part, the implementation phase of the project “will create or maintain approximately 10,800 jobs per year throughout the 25-year construction period across the economy.”
Jean-Yves Duclos, the Minister of Public Services, for his part said that the Canadian Combat Ships project is “at the heart of our government’s commitment to revitalize the Canadian maritime industry (…) while creating jobs highly qualified and by promoting economic benefits for Canadians.
