Vanguard Magazine

14 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 www.vanguardcanada.com SUBMARINE ships can no longer expect to operate in a safe haven on the East Coast or merely cross the Atlantic unhindered." VAdm Daryl Caudle, Commander US Submarine Forces expressed a similar concern stat- ing: "It is pretty well known now that our homeland is no longer a sanctuary, so we have to be prepared here to conduct high- end combat operations in local waters." If the RCN is going to be able to par- ticipate in future conflict, it must be pre- pared for ASW action in the approaches to Halifax, the Straight of Juan de Fuca, and the Canadian Arctic. No other platform is better suited to detect, track, classify and engage a submarine than another subma- rine. If the RCN is to be a relevant future force, it must have submarines. A future submarine force is needed not just to facilitate access to the high seas for the RCN, not just to conduct traditional submarine missions, but rather, a future Canadian submarine will be part of the very fabric of a continental defence net- work, needed to protect Canadians and Canada's sovereign territory against mis- sile strikes from the sea. As General Glenn VanHerck, Commander of NORAD and USNORTHCOM stated in his March 8th written testimony to the House Armed Services Committee: "Russia has fielded the first two of their nine planned Severodvinsk-class guided missile submarines, which are designed to deploy undetected within cruise missile range of our coastlines to threaten critical infrastructure during an escalating crisis. This challenge will be compounded in the next few years as the Russian Navy adds the Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile to the Severodvinsk's arsenal" Competitors understand the importance of submarines and how these can be paired with emerging missile technology to keep Canada, the United States and, indeed, NATO out of regional conflicts. As Can- ada reinvests in the navy for the threats of the future, the nation would do well to in- vest in the asymmetric capabilities that will keep competitors away from its shores. To this end, submarines remain the best plat- form to execute the entirety of the ASW kill-chain. A few years ago, I was privileged to at- tend a yearlong international program at the United States Naval War College. Our professors consistently hammered home the value of leaning on the great masters. While the writings of Sun-Tzu, Clausewitz, Jomini, Mahan, Corbett and others seem dated to many, they have a way of bring- ing clarity to the most challenging military problems. Oddly enough, the writings of a Prussian Army General seem exceedingly appropriate to a Canadian submarine ac- quisition, and to the Canadian national psyche – especially in dangerous times such as today. In the opening paragraphs of the opening chapter of the opening book of On War, Clausewitz remarked: Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat without too much blood- shed and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed: war is such a dangerous business that the mis- takes which come from kindness are the very worst. The maximum use of force is in no way incompatible with the simulta- neous use of intellect. If one side uses force without compunction, undeterred by the bloodshed it involves, while the other side refrains, the first will gain the upper hand." Since early, Canada has witnessed the world return to the brutality of war. We have seen competitors stop at nothing to achieve their aims. In this new world, the nation must provide its soldiers, sailors, and aviators with the tools they need to prevail in the brutality of war. As the United State's first president said during his first address to both Houses of Congress "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." Today's world is too dangerous not to be well prepared. In a Mahanian context, submarines re- main the ultimate guarantor of trade, the protector of the great global commons. In today's security environment where adver- saries hold our power generation and dis- tribution capabilities transportation hubs, economic centres, force projection capa- bilities, and other critical infrastructure is at risk every day. Submarines are both our greatest deterrent and our last line of de- fence. They are the best, if not only, way to defend against a devastating adversary sub- marine capability that, without submarines of our own, may only be unmasked when they launch their highly capable weapons systems into the heart of North America. Canada's next defence policy must rap- idly adjust to a world that is armed with the most sophisticated weapons yet, at the same time, a world that has reverted to the aggressive behaviors and failed diplomacy of years gone by. As Canada writes its new defence policy, it is essential to commit the funding and resources needed to rapidly rebuild its defences to keep Canadians safe. These investments must include the tools necessary to not only understand what is happening above, on, and beneath our maritime approaches but the ability to act decisively. This only comes with a contin- ued submarine capability. References: 1. J. Woodward, One Hundred Days: The Memoirs of the Falklands Battle Group Commander. pg. 228. 2. S. G. Gorshkov, The Sea Power of the State. pg. 190 3. B. Brimelow, Russia's powerful Northern Fleet just got the first of a new class of submarines that has the US Navy worried (Russia's powerful Northern Fleet just got the first of a new class of submarines that has the US Navy worried (businessinsider. nl),) accessed 28 June 2022 4. Ibid 5. G. VanHerck, Statement of General Glen D. VanHerck, United States Air Master Sailor Guillaume Rivard, a Sonar Operator aboard HMCS CALGARY, compiles and analyzes acoustic information from shipborne sensors during Exercise Talisman Sabre, July, 2021. Photo: DND

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