It's important to highlight here that submarines are
among the world's most highly complex machines and
that they operate in an unforgiving environment. This
necessitates a highly rigorous material certification
process to assure the safety of the crew and the
submarine.
www.vanguardcanada.com OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 15
INTERVIEW
lishment of a Canadian Patrol Submarine
Project represents standard and routine
Naval Force Development work. Estab-
lishing a project to replace the Victoria-
class in due course does not commit the
government to any specific course of
action, but instead preserves the time
to make an informed decision when re-
quired.
Q What areas of technological devel-
opment do you see as key for Canada
to capitalize on in a future Canadian
submarine?
While the Canadian Patrol Submarine
Project (CPSP) team is in the early stages
of looking at the capabilities that could be
required of Canada's next-generation sub-
marine, areas that could relate to the con-
duct of operations in Arctic waters warrant
consideration, such as battery technology
for instance.
Q Finally, the 2017 Standing Senate
Committee and National Security and
Defence report recommended that Cana-
da has a fleet of 12 submarines, what are
your thoughts on the overall numbers of
submarines?
The RCN has undertaken a study to de-
termine what size of a future submarine
fleet would be required to support antici-
pated missions (both domestic and expe-
ditionary), with an anticipated operational
tempo, and cognizant of required mainte-
nance cycles.
It's important to highlight here that
submarines are among the world's most
highly complex machines and that they
operate in an unforgiving environment.
This necessitates a highly rigorous material
certification process to assure the safety of
the crew and the submarine. This material
certification is achieved through a time-
based maintenance cycle which forms an
essential element of the operational cycle
of any class of submarine.
What this means is that the size of
any fleet must be sufficient enough to
support the range of missions that the
government of Canada might require,
and to be sustainable for potentially
prolonged periods (with sufficient units
in reserve to rotate in and out for rest
and replenishment as necessary). The
size of the fleet must also be sufficient
to enable units to undergo periods of
deep maintenance following operational
periods, to ensure that they remain safe
and effective.
www.rheinmetall.ca
• Reconnaissance and sensor systems
• Command and control systems
• Weapon systems and ammunition
• Countermine technology
• Protective systems and passive protection
• Simulation and training systems
NAVALDEFENCE
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