Vanguard Magazine

I IDEAS 36 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 www.vanguardcanada.com an ALSC contender, called SMART (Stra- tegic Multirole Aid and Replenishment Transport). SMART had a roll-on/roll-off cargo deck, a single mast replenishment system and was to be equipped to carry MEXEFLOTE cargo handling barges. Two helicopter spots, each capable of han- dling an EH-101 sized helicopter were available, with a connecting deck area on the port side allowing transfer of helicop- ters between fore or aft spots. SMART was an almost ideal example of the Golden Mean. It was not perfect at anything. Instead, it was a generalist, ca- pable of conducting transport, replenish- ment and providing the Canadian naval fleets with a much needed force multiplier. SMART would also have been a learn- ing experience. Looking at SMART, we can easily see the possibilities of convert- ing the basic type to a more capable AOR with an added RO-RO capability. Such a vessel might have proved attractive to any number of navies. Likewise, we can also see the possibilities inherent in removing the replenishment mast and crane to cre- ate a quite-functional Landing Platform, Helicopter. The desire to create a perfect capabil- ity meant that not only did Canada deny itself the opportunity to field such unique vessels; it also lost whatever export op- portunities might have arisen. Perfection comes with a cost, in this case that cost included maintaining a vibrant domestic shipbuilding industry. We are now in the process of rebuilding that industry at in- flated cost, a cost added to the price paid for the over-specification of the ALSC/ JSS requirement. We will also pay that price during the acquisition of every RCN or CCG ship acquired through the Na- tional Shipbuilding Procurement Strat- egy. It is a price we need not have paid. The Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) program is an example of the 80% solution at work. The design is not perfect. Some of that results from the combination of dis- parate roles, arctic patrol/icebreaking and temperate water offshore patrol. Most of the "imperfection" springs from a willing- ness to accept compromises, it will be good enough for its tasks, but not exceptional at any of them. It will be limited as an ice- breaker, slow for an Offshore Patrol Vessel and the main gun barely qualifies as such. It will however, be armed and patrolling both the Arctic and offshore. Eight years have passed since the July 2007 announcement of the program, and steel cutting has begun. That may seem a long time, but compare it to the 22 year (and counting) saga of the ALSC/JSS. However slow it may prove to be on the water, AOPS is proving to be much faster on the building slip. Reasonable specifications, managed expectations and willingness to compromise are generating platforms in place of programs. The ultimate expression of seeking per- fection, as it applies to Canadian Defence Acquisitions, is the much-beloved AVRO CF-105 Arrow. The Arrow was design-op- timized, at great expense, to serve as the ultimate interceptor in defence of Cana- da's airspace. The AVRO Arrow mystique MIL Systems SMART ship was a proposed design for the initial ALSC program under the Mulroney government. An interesting element of the SMART ship was its "Ro-Ro" capability. The design was never built.

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