Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/122908
COUNTERPOINT C Andrew warden manages maritime affairs and communications for the Navy League of Canada. Littoral Combat Ship. Photo: Lockheed Martin 'S SHIP BUYING POWER BE WARY OF OFF-THE-SHELF OPTIONS I n recent years, the government of Canada has been looking at renewing the federal fleets. Without a doubt, this is the largest and most ambitious shipbuilding initiative since the Second World War. The decisions that are made today and in the coming years will impact the abilities of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) for the next two generations. This is why the designs that are selected for fleet renewal are of paramount importance. With nearly $35 billion on the table, it is no wonder that many are concerned with cost savings and efficiencies. However, the cheapest or existing "off-the-shelf" solution may, in fact, be a short-term gain that causes a long-term problem. What needs to be understood and kept to the forefront of our minds is that Canada needs ship designs that will deliver vessels capable of operating in all environments in which the government and Canadians expect the RCN and CCG to operate. In recent years, the Joint Support Ship project has been on again, off again to the detriment of Canada's naval capability, demonstrating how flawed Canada's inflexible procurement policies are. To bring a quick resolution to the plagued program, some have advocated buying an off-the-shelf design. While this could potentially bring ships into the RCN quickly and at an initial lower cost, there are potentially significant drawbacks. Both Russia and Australia have recently purchased ships (Mistral and Bay Class) from other countries, and these decisions have proven to be more costly and delivered less operational capability than originally thought. For Russia, it turned out that the ships apparently do not operate in cold climates, and for Australia, significant refits were required after it was realized that the onboard cooling systems could not keep up with tropical climates. Another potential problem is that accepting an unmodified existing design often brings with it a supply chain that is difficult and expensive to support. These are very important lessons learned that Canada must keep in mind when looking at choosing ship designs. Even within domestic waters, RCN and CCG ships are asked to operate is extremely varying climates. Whether it is the Gulf Islands on the West Coast, the shores off Newfoundland, or the High Arctic, RCN and CCG ships are asked to operate in all weather in greatly varied sea conditions. It is also important that Canadian industry be, to the greatest extent possible, capable of providing inservice support to these fleets. Going a step further, Canada prides itself on being able to deploy ships anywhere in the world, undertaking tasks ranging from humanitarian aid to dealing with terrorism. Almost everywhere the RCN has operated in in the last decade, the climate has been www.vanguardcanada.com APRIL/MAY 2013 17