Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/139409
s shipbuilding henning Jacobsen is the owner of HJA Solutions, a consultancy that has advised numerous defence companies, including ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and DCN International. He is a former executive with Bombardier, Spar Aerospace and Oerlikon Contraves. poweR SouRce The hybrid solution for the future naval fleet I n 2011, Canada launched the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) with the objective to chart a new course for the Canadian shipbuilding industry in preparation for the Navy's second century of service. The government committed to invest heavily in new Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) ships by commissioning work over the longterm; a new strategy intended to give stability to an industry that up to now has been limping along in a 25-year boom-to-bust cycle. The NSPS represents a change in procurement philosophy that should enable the shipbuilding industry to plan and make investments in infrastructure, R&D and new capability. The strategy has been hailed in most quarters as a model program to serve Canada's many maritime needs. It will allow industry to deliver modern navy and coast guard fleets to safeguard international trade and enforce Canadian law and authority along the world's longest coastline, as well as fulfilling the navy's role in global peacekeeping by participating in future joint task force operations with the U.S. and NATO partners. In all the excitement over the satisfactory NSPS launch, it appears that minimal attention has been paid to the condition of the shipbuilding industry at the outset; industry is not well prepared to address the reality of a modern navy. Little has been said about the R&D required to build a relevant navy over a wide spectrum of ships with cutting-edge technology. For the maritime industry to reemerge successfully, and not expose the selected shipyards to undue risks, the new fleets should be based as much as possible on proven designs and best-in-class off-the-shelf technology. 42 JUNE/JULY 2013 www.vanguardcanada.com The RCN has already taken the first step in this direction with the selection of the ThyssenKrupp Type 702 Berlin-class replenishment ship, commissioned in 2001, for the joint support ship (JSS) program. For the Arctic offshore patrol ship (AOPS) program, the Norwegian navy's KV Svalbard Class (W303), an ocean patrol vessel also commissioned in 2001, is a low risk entry. Both candidates should be subjected to trade-off studies to find the best solutions in hull shape and navigation, electronic and weapon systems, and in power generation and propulsion systems. Since the Canadian surface combatant is still in the analysis phase, it has been excluded from this article. Basing the JSS and AOPS on the design heritage of the Berlin Class and Svalbard Class, respectively, could have many advantages. Chief among them would be to allow Canada to progress with speed to achieve the navy's urgent operational goals and to avoid the "nightmare" scenarios of price escalations, schedule creep and technical integration risks most often associated with "clean sheet" designs. This is particularly true for an industry that has been out-of-the-loop for over 25 years. The exception to the built-to-print ship approach is reflected in the attention now paid to warship fuel economy, an aspect of R&D that has seen the most drastic changes. Despite the growth of new sources of unconventional oil, the rise in demand for fossil fuel globally will be increasing at a rate much faster than anticipated. In fact, the International Energy Agency and many oil experts believe that in less than five years, the fossil fuel price will grow substantially. The naval departments in the United States and some European Union countries have recognized this reality