6FEBRUARY/MARCH 2026 www.vanguardcanada.com
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Canada Breaks Ground on River-Class Test Facility
In November the Department of National Defence began full
construction of a Land-Based Test Facility at Hartlen Point in
Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, a shore-based complex designed
to integrate and commission combat systems for the Royal
Canadian Navy's new River-class destroyers. With early site
preparation complete and structural work now underway, the
project has entered a delivery phase that directly underpins the
destroyer program's schedule. Completion is expected in early
2028. The facility is designed to do work that would be risky,
expensive, or impractical to do for the first time at sea. National
Defence has been explicit that this is not a weapons testing
site. Its role is systems integration, verification, and readiness,
rather than live-fire activity. Canada is procuring 15 River-class
destroyers to replace the Halifax-class frigates and the retired
Iroquois-class destroyers. Without a dedicated land-based inte-
gration facility, much of the commissioning and troubleshoot-
ing work would need to occur aboard ship, increasing cost and
introducing schedule risk at a critical point in the program. The
Land-Based Test Facility is intended to de-risk that process and
support a smoother entry into service.
Facilities like this are what turn ship designs into operational
reality. Image source: https://x.com/NationalDefence/sta-
tus/2013326501031064019/photo/1
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