The Irving shipyard in Halifax has begun cutting steel plates for the construction of 15 new Canadian destroyers.
The Royal Canadian Navy says it will take around ten years before the first of these 8,000-ton ships joins military operations.
More expensive than expected
Officials predicted that delivery of the first of these surface combatants, the NCSM Fraserwas planned 2030″,”text”:”for the early 2030s”}}”>for the early 2030s
.
The Fraser would probably not be part of Royal Canadian Navy operations before 2035, after tests and sea trials, it is specified.
They also said the first nine ships should be delivered by 2040, and the full fleet would be delivered by 2050.
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Royal Canadian Navy Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee (in uniform) and National Defence Minister Bill Blair announce the construction of the ships Friday at the Halifax Shipyard.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Adrien Blanc
Government and Navy officials said Thursday that costs for the warship program would increase from previous estimates of about $60 billion.
They did not, however, confirm a 2022 report from the parliamentary budget officer that the bill would reach just over $80 billion.
What will the new warships be called?
The 15 future warships received their official designation as Rivers and Rivers class destroyers.
The ships will be named after Canadian waterways, starting with three of the country’s largest rivers.
The NCSM Fraserthe NCSM Saint Laurent and the NCSM Mackenzie will pay tribute to Canadian warships that bore the same names during the Second World War.
These 15 ships must replace the Iroquois class destroyers already decommissioned and the Halifax class frigates, indicates National Defense.
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The future Rivers and Rivers class ships to be built in Halifax will replace those of the Iroquois class, such as the HMCS Algonquin, seen above in 2013 after a collision at sea with the HMCS Protecteur.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Chad Hipolito
Federal acquisition officials indicated Thursday that final, detailed contracts for the first three destroyers had not yet been signed with Irving and would not be officially awarded until late 2024 or early 2025.
But while the final design of the ships is not yet complete, the first production of steel sheets has begun in order to advance the project, it is reported.
A ceremony in the presence of site workers took place on Friday. We carried out the symbolic welding of a module which will be used in the construction of these ships.
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Workers from Halifax’s Irving Shipyard attend the news conference Friday.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Adrien Blanc
Officials said the Halifax shipyard has begun producing what are called plates thin steel
which will be used for the construction of destroyers.
These steel plates are thinner than those used in the construction of Arctic and offshore patrol vessels at this shipyard.
According to The Canadian Press and with information from Adrien Blanc
