Minister
Announces Canada Set to Procure 12 Submarines
Above image: HMCS
WINDSOR, a VICTORIA Class submarine exchanges passengers with HMCS FREDERICTON
using a Zodiac during Canadian Fleet Operations. HMCS FREDERICTON is
participating in the exercise along with other Canadian and American naval
vessel.
Canada has its eyes set on procuring 12
“conventionally-powered, under-ice capable submarines” to bolster its presence
and strength in Canada’s Arctic.
According to the announcement made by Minister Bill
Blair on Wednesday, the need to bolster Canada’s submarine capabilities stems
from several factors, including more Russian activity and the area’s general
increasing accessibility.
“As the country with the longest coastline in the
world, Canada needs a new fleet of submarines – and today, we’ve announced that
we will move forward with this acquisition. This new fleet will enable Canada
to protect its sovereignty in a changing world, and make valuable, high-end
contributions to the security of our partners and NATO Allies. We look forward
to delivering this new fleet to the Royal Canadian Navy,” said Blair, Minister
of National Defence.
Through this modernization, the government hopes to
retire its increasingly obsolete Victoria-class submarines.
Taking
first steps
Under the umbrella of the Canadian Patrol Submarine
Project (CPSP), Canada will take the first steps to modernize the Royal
Canadian Navy’s submarines.
According to the military, Canada’s current
Victoria-class submarines were purchased from the British government in 1998.
The four submarines were sent and commissioned to the RCN from 2000 to 2004.
The government has committed to modernizing this fleet
into the mid-2030s. According to a press release from the Department of
National Defence (DND), the department is currently meeting with manufacturers
and potential partners to deliver on this modernization.
The government is looking for submarines that will
allow the RCN to be stealthy, lethal, and deployable in the Arctic.
“Canada’s new fleet will need to provide a unique
combination of these requirements to ensure that Canada can detect, track,
deter and, if necessary, defeat adversaries in all three of Canada’s oceans
while contributing meaningfully alongside allies and enabling the Government of
Canada to deploy this fleet abroad in support of our partners and allies,”
stated a DND press release.
Increasing
Threats
As the country with the largest coastline in the
world, Canada is also more susceptible to foreign threats in its water. No
greater is this threat than in the Arctic. According to the Canadian military,
the Arctic region is becoming more accessible to foreign invaders, with both
Russia and China setting their sites in the area.
According to the military, competitors are looking to
the region for access to transportation routes, natural resources, critical
minerals, and energy sources.
Investing
in the new defence policy
Investing in a
new submarine fleet is not the only investment the government seeks to make
under its Our North, Strong and Free defence
policy. Over the next five years, the government intends to pour $8.1 in defence
spending, totalling $73 billion in the next twenty years.
New equipment the government hopes to acquire under
this policy include:
·
new
vehicles adapted to winter weather,
·
acquire
ground-based air defences,
·
acquiring
long-range air and sea-launched missiles,
·
modernizing
artillery capabilities and much more.
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar
Merk: Bare medlemmer av denne bloggen kan legge inn en kommentar.