Vanguard Magazine

32 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com submarines 50 per cent of our submarine force, glob- ally, at one time? Short answer, a lot of hard work and professionalism – let me explain. As I indicated earlier, the safe operation of submarines requires dedicated support, which is often necessarily different from that of the surface navy. However, much like aircraft, submarines require external maintenance support as repairs and routine maintenance are often beyond the capabili- ty of the small submarine crew. With one of the four submarines always in a three-year extended deep maintenance period, the re- maining three submarines operate on a 34- week cycle, where within this period, 27 weeks are available for operations and seven weeks for routine maintenance. Clearly the decision to overlap the operations schedule of two submarines, for extended periods, caused this cycle to be modified to ensure critical maintenance and safety inspections were met. The ability for Canada to do this shows the deep understanding of the mate- riel state of these submarines that is neces- sary to prudently manage risks. In addition to developing dedicated submarine maintenance support facilities in both Halifax and Esquimalt, it was rec- ognized that in order to support forward deployed submarines, submarine support teams would be required. The deploy- ment of the submarine HMCS Chicoutimi to the western Pacific (Japan) for an ex- tended period was an opportunity to test the national submarine support organiza- tion, because on the East Coast of Canada, HMCS Windsor's NATO deployment to the Mediterranean Sea would overlap and stretch resources. This required the RCN to simultaneously support two submarines that were literally on opposite sides of the globe and far away from Canada. As is al- ways the case, there were unexpected challenges, not the least being an emer- gent requirement to conduct a complete battery change in HMCS Chicoutimi – not a trivial undertaking to say the least. During transit to Hawaii in May 2017, HMCS Chicoutimi's battery showed the early signs of degradation to such an ex- tent it was decided that the submarine re- turn to Esquimalt and conduct a complete battery swap with HMCS Victoria – nota- bly while the submarine remained in the water, a first for the RCN. To put this into perspective, the battery in a Victoria-class submarine consists of 480 individual cells (each weighing 550 kilograms). In addi- tion to providing power, the battery also acts as ballast, thereby providing essential stability to the submarine when it is in the water – which is why this operation is nor- mally conducted when the submarine is in a dry dock. Working "around the clock" shifts, Fleet Maintenance Facility (FMF) Cape Breton and the ship's company of HMCS Chicoutimi completed the battery installation without incident. The entire job of changing out the batteries in two submarines involved some 18,000-person hours over a 60-day period. HMCS Chi- coutimi then sailed for the western Pacific deployment without incident. In preparation for the Western Pacific deployment, Rest and Maintenance Pe- riods (RAMPs) were planned to support HMCS Chicoutimi in both Japan and Guam. Support team composition was quickly recognized as being critical, since team members had to be capable and ver- satile, whilst reflecting a broad spectrum of skillsets. Furthermore, in order to build up a lasting cadre of submarine support expertise, it was important to include newly qualified personnel, who would learn from the experts during a challenging pro- gramme. FMF Cape Breton deployed teams to Guam and Japan in support of HMCS Chicoutimi's deployment – not surprising, given the small size of modern submarine crews, at times, and that the FMF team ac- tually outnumbered the submarine's crew. The intent was always for the FMF Cape Breton team to deploy with minimal ma- terials and to work with resident U.S. Navy submarine support teams in both Japan and then later in Guam. Specifi- cally, in Guam, local agreements with U.S. Navy submarine support activity allowed the FMF Cape Breton team to work on- board U.S. Navy submarine tenders and were fully integrated into the maintenance planning onboard the submarine ten- der USS Emory S. Land. In the end, the RAMPs were a complete technical success; however, they also validated the RCN's deployed submarine support capability and, according to an article in the Mari- time Engineering Journal, "proved that building a deployment team with a wide enough scope of skillsets to cover nearly all possible contingencies and types of repairs was essential to success". 6 Simultaneously, the Halifax-based sub- marine HMCS Windsor completed an intermediate work period at FMF Cape Scott, during which the fitment of a state- of-the-art AN/BQQ-10 sonar processing suite was completed, which has dramati- cally boosted the submarine's sonar detec- tion and acoustic discrimination capabil- ity. In addition to a new sonar suite, the submarine also received a new "made-in- Canada" auto-pilot system which supports precise depth keeping whilst at periscope depth. 7 These are not trivial modifications and the fact that this level of technical support can be conducted simultaneously with a major deployment on the opposite coast speaks volumes as to how Canada has put in place professional submarine support infrastructure on two coasts. But it is also a testament of the experience and the confidence that Canada has devel- oped in operating these submarines, by both operators and technical support, often in the face of withering public criticism. Dur- ing what is seen by those unfamiliar with submarines as an overly prolonged gestation period, the Canadian submarine commu- nity has quietly learned the nuances of these unique vehicles and developed a refined un- derstanding of how far limits can be pushed without jeopardizing submarine safety. The recent deployments of HMCS Chicoutimi and HMCS Windsor have indisputably dem- Canadian Victoria-class long-range hunter-killer submarine HMCS Chicoutimi (SSK 879) pulls pier side in to Fleet Activities (FLEACT) Yokosuka for a port visit. YOKOSUKA, Japan (October 18, 2017). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Peter Burghart/Released)

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