Vanguard Magazine

suBmarIne s 16 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 www.vanguardcanada.com indicated: • US – is building arguably the finest ocean- going submarines in the world. However, the US does not build submarines for foreign nations and both submarine yards are currently fully engaged with Virginia- class SSNs and the new Columbia-class SSBN. This will be unchanged well into the 2030s, moreover, politically there is no appetite in the US to build non-nucle- ar powered submarines. • UK – there is one submarine yard, which is at maximum capacity to build the As- tute-class SSNs and the Dreadnought- class SSBNs – this will be unchanged into the 2030s. • Germany – the largest conventional submarine builder in the world, how- ever designs are typically under 2000 tons and suited for European geogra- phy and/or littoral nations. Customers include Israel, Greece, Portugal, Korea and Turkey. • France – produces a smaller SSN design than other navies and is also producing a 4000-ton non-nuclear powered export version of the Suffren-class SSN (called a Short-Fin Barracuda). French designs tend to be optimized for likely areas of op- eration – namely the Mediterranean Sea. • Sweden – smaller designs for the Eu- ropean geography (Baltic/North Seas) typically under 2000 tons. Of note, the Australian Collins-class submarines are a modified Swedish design of 3400 tons displacement. • Japan – indigenously designed and pro- duces very large conventional subma- rines – the Soryu-class submarines are 4200 tons in displacement. However, because of constitutional issues, Japan has not engaged in any submarine ex- ports to date. This limitation appears to be changing, as Japan recently bid in the Australian submarine replacement pro- gramme. • Italy – builds German designs, which are typically under 2000 tons and suited for European geography. • Spain – is building the S-80 class submarine (modified Scorpene-class French/Spanish design), which is an AIP fitted submarine of 2400 tons, the same displacement of Canada's Victoria- class submarines. As can be seen, there are a number of shipbuilders that are capable of designing and building submarines, but almost all are European and have little expertise with larger ocean-going designs that have be- come the purview of the nuclear-powered submarine community. Furthermore, as the Australians have discovered with their current fleet of Collins-class submarines, simply stretching an existing smaller design is problematic, resulting in serious design issues that are not correctable after build. On that note, it is important for Canada to pay close attention to the Australian ex- perience, as more than any other nation their submarine requirements in many ways mirror those of Canada. Australia is in the process of replacing their six Col- lins-class submarines with 12 convention- al submarines. They have selected a long- range variant of the French Short Fin Barracuda design, fitted with a USN com- bat system. In this case, the Australians are pushing extant technology to produce a modern conventional submarine based on an SSN design, albeit supported by the MESMA AIP system. This is certainly un- conventional in approach, but will this be a solution for Canada? Time will tell. Build in canada Given the preference of the Government of Canada to build in Canada and the shipbuilding capabilities that are now be- ing realized by the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), it is reasonable to assume that a build in Canada solution, supported by a foreign shipbuilder with submarine building expertise, would be most likely - should the overall numbers warrant it. In addition to building the submarines, the necessary national infrastructure, par- ticularly the supply chain, must be in place to support these submarines throughout their service life. To be clear, these are two different but complementary activities and they need synergy to be effective and ef- ficient, particularly if there is a to be a long or continuous building process as origi- nally championed under the NSS. So whither Canada's Unconventional- Conventional Submarine? The Victoria Class Modernization will significantly upgrade the current fleet of submarines and allow them to remain operationally relevant to the end of the 2030s, thus keeping a Canadian submarine capabil- ity alive. Assuming a 15-year time-frame from project inception to Initial Oper- ating Capability, a future submarine re- placement project should be able to reap the advances in evolving technology as well as leverage domestic capability aris- ing from the National Shipbuilding Strat- egy. This is not to suggest that Canada simply waits for industry to develop a solution; rather now is the time for the naval staff to evolve the requirement by pushing DRDC and industry to identify the technologies that are essential for a Canadian submarine. However, if Canada was to instead procure an "off the shelf" solution reflecting current technological limitations to meet short term "cost ef- ficiencies", and subsequently failing to address unique Canadian requirements, these submarines will struggle to maxi- mize their return on a rather significant investment. In sum, if Canada is to procure an af- fordable submarine that meets uniquely Canadian requirements – the Unconven- tional-Conventional Submarine – it needs time to leverage technology whilst simul- taneously maintaining the current trajec- tory of growing the breadth and depth of Canada's cadre of submarine expertise. The Victoria-Class Modernization project gives Canada that time. captain (n) (retd) norman Jolin, omm, msm, cd, is an Associate Consul- tant with CFN Consultants. Prior to joining CFN, Norm provided advice on Canadian defence procurement in the private sector, following a distinguished 37-year career in the Royal Canadian Navy. 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