Vanguard Magazine

M A R I T I M E 30 APRIL/MAY 2024 www.vanguardcanada.com In fact, we should collectively be think- ing about what we can do to support a move beyond constant federal demand and toward a broader strategy of diversi- fication. Constant demand can at least en- sure that there's a minimally viable defence industrial base, but that's a long way from providing a truly competitive marketplace from which the best goods can be acquired at the lowest prices, and from having the ability to scale up production in crisis. The best way to push our fleets beyond their designed life is to limit the require- ment to do so in the first place. NSS, in par- ticular, is key to achieving this, but further improvement is most certainly possible. Where We Are - Legacy Fleets We've got some lessons that need to be learned on defence industrial base strat- egy. Letting defence industrial capabilities lapse involves significant strategic risk, and media reporting regularly shines a spot- light on our collective shortcomings. We need to move deliberately to close capa- bility gaps in the industrial support base and to prevent new ones from emerging. The new United States Navy Chief of Na- val Operations is out there talking about a "decisive decade" ahead. What is worth noting as we reflect on her remarks is where the Canadian Surface Combatant will deliver in that decade – the very first ship at the very end of the period she's concerned about. That's the project that is in the best shape across our legacy fleets. Halifax class In terms of the immediate issues with legacy fleets, it is the Halifax class main- tenance programme demand that we're feeling most acutely at present. Non-dis- cretionary scope growth in recent Halifax class Docking Work Periods (HCDWP, or just DWP) – work absolutely required to ensure that the ships are safe and opera- tionally relevant against modern threats – has been immense, and there is very little room for manoeuvre to mitigate cost and schedule impacts. Simply as a function of the time required to conduct the necessary maintenance, we should expect reduced availability from the Halifax class in the future. The best we can do is mitigate the decline – we can- not arrest it fully. With the induction of a third HCDWP shipyard, DWPs are cur- rently taking 18-24 months to execute, compared to four to five months when the ships were new. We also altered the main- tenance profile from the 60-month (60M) cycle inclusive of DWP time to one that is premised on a 60 month 'operational' pe- riod followed by a variable period in DWP preparation, DWP, and post-DWP resto- ration to service. Both measures together support better availability for this fleet than would otherwise have been the case, but it will be less than earlier in the life of the class, and the trend is downward. Apart from the 'time in maintenance' challenge, opening a third shipyard in- creased the requirement for cash flow to fund the Halifax class maintenance pro- gramme. Further changes in the demand for funding resulted from in-service sup- port requirements for systems installed under the Halifax Class Modernization/ Frigate Life Extension (HCM/FELEX) project and from a shift to a more indus- try-centric, in-service support approach across Naval fleets as demands increased at each Fleet Maintenance Facility. Ad- ditionally, underlying economic factors, especially in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, more acutely felt in shipbuild- ing and ship repair than in the broader economy, are putting further pressure on the programme. To help address both cost and time pressures in the DWPs, we established a Canada-Industry Integrated Project Team (CI-IPT) including representatives from my Division, Public Services and Procure- ment Canada (PSPC), all three shipyards and both Fleet Maintenance Facilities to exchange best practices and serve as a clearing house for ideas to improve the efficiency of both spending and program execution on Halifax Class DWPs. The challenge here is very high and growing. Overall, I expect it will demand quite a lot of attention in the coming years. Victoria class Unlike the Halifax class, the materiel cer- tification regime for the Victoria class does not permit much latitude in controlling the scope of the repair effort in our Ex- HMCS REGINA. Photo: Corporal Jay Naples, MARPAC Imaging Services

• Cover