Canadian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Here's another one I didn't see coming...

Canada will convert a used civilian container vessel into an AOR... (hopefully this won't give any ideas to France for the planned replacement of Durance class).


L-3 MAPPS Selected by Chantier Davie Canada and Project Resolve for the
Royal Canadian Navy’s Interim Auxiliary Oil Replenishment (iAOR) Provision of Service

bdReypA.jpg
Well, as I understand it, it is just an interim measure. Not meant to be the new class or to be the permanent solution.
 

JudgeKing

New Member
Registered Member
A re-elected Conservative government could end up approving the construction of as few as 11 warships to replace the navy’s frigates, despite committing to 15 combat vessels under their marquee defence strategy.

Conservative candidate Jason Kenney, the defence minister, offered that update on Friday at a Nova Scotia shipyard, which is now cutting steel on the government’s long-promised Arctic offshore patrol ships.

Once those light icebreakers are completed, Irving Shipbuilding — the federal government’s go-to contractor for combat vessels — is expected to begin construction of the more technically complex Canadian surface combatant ships, which are intended to replace not only the existing frigates but also the navy’s command-and-control destroyers.

The government intends to build between 11 and 15 frigate replacements and the final number will depend on technology and cost, Kenney said.

“We are going to have make choices that trade-off the number of vessels and the expense of the technology we load on to them,” he said during a question-and answer-session with reporters.

“Those latter vessels are going to be built well into the 2020s. Should the government at that point need to adjust the budget to accommodate for inflation and technology costs, I’m sure the government will do so. Right now, this is the prudent strategy.”

How many warships the federal government is willing to build has been a source of uncertainty and some anxiety in Halifax, which sees the shipyard program as an economic boon.

The Conservative’s Canada First defence strategy, introduced in 2008, calls for 15 warships, but over the last few years the phrase “up to 15” has crept into government statements and speeches.

“There is an absolute degree of uncertainty about the numbers,” said Dave Perry, a defence analyst with the Global Affairs Institute.

That was evident last month when National Defence went to great lengths to discount a CTV News report that suggested the frigate replacements were at “very high risk” of running over budget, falling behind schedule and delivering inadequate capabilities.

The Liberals have promised to drop the F-35 fighter-jet program and pour the savings from a less expensive aircraft into new navy vessels.

In Halifax, Kenney defended the overall planned shipbuilding investment, saying people counting on the contract shouldn’t look at the glass as half full. “Our budget continues to be $36.6 billion. That’s hardly cheaping out.”

He dismissed any sense of urgency, saying decisions on the frigate replacements would “15 to 20 years down the road,” and preferred to hold up the Arctic patrol ships as a sign of the government’s success.

In fact, a lot of preparation has gone into synchronizing the transition between the end of the patrol ship program in 2022 and the beginning of the frigate replacements — meaning decisions on contracts and the potential number of ships will need to happen within the next five to seven years.

Perry said buying fewer than 15 combat ships would force tough choices on the navy in terms of how, where and when it can deploy.

“If we are talking about a future fleet that’s smaller, we’ll need vessels that have significantly high availability — or we’re not going to have a navy that can deploy as much as it did in the last 20 years,” he said.

A series of briefing notes, slide presentations and reports, obtained by The Canadian Press under access to information legislation, show it was a tortured path for the Conservatives to get the Arctic ships under contract with Irving.

There was considerable uncertainty about the number that would be built in the run-up to the contract signing.

Irving Shipbuilding “has yet to commit to (the) number of ships if no budget increase is approved,” said an Aug. 26 briefing to the deputy defence minister.

Federal officials knew as far back as the fall of 2013 that they couldn’t afford to build six Arctic ships, as promised, because delays and inflation had robbed them as much as $300 million in purchasing power and that the overall program was short up to $455.3 million.

“Without a top-up, (the) project will be unable to enter into (a) contract that is currently being negotiated,” said an Aug. 21, 2014 slide presentation from the project office.

At one point, the project organizers looked at cutting the number of ships to four. In the end, they settled on five ships, but set out financial incentives for Irving to build the promised sixth ship if budget permitted.

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How is it that no-one in the Canadian government thought to account for inflation when planning a multi-decade program?
 

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Asterix the new supply ship for the Navy she get a funny name :)
But Canadians have a good idea there after all these setbacks... !

Canada turns to Asterix for stop gap at-sea support

Two shipyards in eastern Canada are preparing to convert a commercially operated container ship into an auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) vessel for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), as the service seeks to fill a gap in its at-sea logistic capability.
The 183 m-long, 23,800 dwt MV Asterix will be transformed into an 'interim AOR' at the Chantier Davie yard in Lévis, Quebec, and the Aecon fabrication facility in Pictou, Nova Scotia. This will fulfil an urgent operational requirement for underway replenishment supply pending the entry into service of two purpose-built vessels under the Joint Support Ship (JSS) programme.
The navy's legacy AORs, HMCS Preserver and HMCS Protecteur , were retired early in 2014. With the two Queenston-class JSSs not expected to enter service until late 2020 and 2021, the government announced on 1 August 2015 that it had signed a letter of intent with Davie for the provision of a stop gap capability for up to five years.
Built in Germany in 2010, Asterix was acquired by Davie from Greek company Capital Ship Management for CAD20 million (USD15 million) and will be converted at a cost of CAD250-300 million (USD190-228 million), according to Canadian media reports.
The rebuilt vessel - with a civilian crew and a Davie-led technical management package - will be chartered to the RCN by a holding company called Project Resolve at an annual cost of up to CAD75 million, the reports said.
Asterix sailed from Singapore on 11 September and is expected to arrive at Aecon's Pictou shipyard on 6 October for initial conversion work, before moving to Lévis in the second quarter of 2016.

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SinoSoldier

Colonel
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Justin Trudeau will be Canada's next prime minister after leading the Liberal Party to a stunning majority government win, dashing the hopes of Stephen Harper, who had been seeking his fourth consecutive mandate, CBC News has projected.

Speaking to his supporters, Harper made no mention about his political future, but the head of the Conservative Party released a statement indicating that the prime minister asked him to reach out to the caucus to name an interim leader.

"The people are never wrong," Harper told his supporters, adding that he accepts the results without hesitation.

This will be the second time Canada will be led by a Trudeau, as the Liberal leader follows in the footsteps of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who served as prime minister for almost 16 years before retiring in 1984.

The Tories will form the Official Opposition, moving Tom Mulcair's NDP to third-party status.

While the results are a stinging rebuke to Harper, who based his party's campaign largely on questioning Trudeau's readiness to lead, it's a total reversal of political fortunes for the Liberals. The party suffered a crushing loss in 2011 and held only 36 seats at the time of Parliament's dissolution.

Now, the Liberals are leading or elected in more than 180 ridings, having won seats in every province and taking the lead in all provinces except Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Tories were leading or elected in more than 100 seats, while the NDP was at 35. The Bloc, meanwhile, was leading or elected in 10 seats.

The Liberals were leading with 40 per cent of the popular vote, followed by the Conservatives with 32 per cent. The NDP dropped to only 18 per cent.

In Ontario, key to the victory, the Liberal Party was leading or elected in around 80 seats, and was also ahead in Quebec, where Liberals had been declared the winners in more than two dozen ridings and were leading in several more.

The Liberals were leading in Ontario's big cities, but also outside the urban centres, especially in the suburban 905 area around Toronto.

The Conservatives had held 159 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons and the NDP had 95, with another 18 seats either vacant, held by Independents or shared between the Green Party (two seats) and the Bloc Québécois and a splinter group.

Because of population growth, 30 new seats have been added this election, including 15 in Ontario, six each for Alberta and British Columbia and three more for Quebec.

Tonight's results also dealt a severe blow to the NDP, which at the beginning of the 11-week campaign was considered a front-runner, but was on the path to lose 50 seats in Quebec, which in the last election was a significant source of the so-called orange wave.

Mulcair, who gave no hint about his political future, told his supporters tonight that the election has been about change, that Canadians had voted to turn the page on 10 years of Harper government and rejected "the politics of fear and division."

He said Trudeau made ambitious commitments and Canadians will have high expectations for their next Parliament.

The Liberal Party jumped to a solid lead early in the evening, as results suggested it would paint Atlantic Canada red and sweep the entire region.

The losses for the Conservatives include two cabinet ministers: Conservative Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea in P.E.I. and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt in New Brunswick.

Among other significant losses include Peter MacKay's former riding in Central Nova, a riding that the former defence minister had held since 1997. Meanwhile, the NDP was poised to lose all six seats it has held.

Meanwhile, across the country, some people attempting to vote have reported a number of problems. Many of these reports have originated on Twitter and Facebook and have not been independently confirmed by CBC News.

There have been several reports of people being told that the identification they brought with them was not sufficient to cast a ballot, even when the identification was a driver's licence, which according to Elections Canada's website is adequate. Some people on social media also complained that Elections Canada volunteers seemed unprepared to handle the workload of the day.

SinoSoldier's post is being allowed here because it will undoubtedly impact Canada's Military.

No political or ideological debate will be tolerated.

SD is not a political forum.

In as far as these results impact military budgets/programs/etc, it is posted FYI...and those specific can be posted as they arise purely from a military perspective.

DO NOT RESPOND TO THE MODERATION
 
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SinoSoldier

Colonel
Probably so. We shall see.

Actually, IMHO, the Advanced Super Hornet would not be a terrible choice if they do go away from the JSF.

I wish the federal government had done this years ago, back when we weren't so financially and politically invested in the F-35. I really hope the RCAF takes a look at the F-15SE and that Boeing will in turn offer a price slash, considering no one else is currently buying or profiling it.
 

vincent

Grumpy Old Man
Staff member
Moderator - World Affairs
I wish the federal government had done this years ago, back when we weren't so financially and politically invested in the F-35. I really hope the RCAF takes a look at the F-15SE and that Boeing will in turn offer a price slash, considering no one else is currently buying or profiling it.

I don't think we spent much money on F-35 so far. Anyways, I'm glad my tax dollars are not wasted on something we don't need.
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
As I say, the Advanced Super Hornet seems like a natural, and a good option, particularly since Canada has operated F-18s for years.

Here she is. I expect the US Navy will ultimately upgrade many of its F/A-18Fs to this configuration.

boe.jpg

Of course, the F-15SE would be equally attractive...but I view both as very good and since Canada already has F-18s...well, that seems like a natural.
 
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