Canadian Surface Combatant

The Canadian Surface Combatant, formerly the Single Class Surface Combatant Project is the name given to the procurement project that will replace the Iroquois and Halifax-class warships with up to 15 new ships beginning in the mid to late 2020s as part of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.[6]

A rendering of the Canadian Surface Combatant
Class overview
Builders: Irving Shipbuilding
Operators:  Royal Canadian Navy
Preceded by:
Built: Mid 2020s–2040s
Planned: 15
General characteristics [1]
Displacement: 7,800 tonnes
Length: 151.4 m (496 ft 9 in)
Beam: 20.75 m (68 ft 1 in)
Draught: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Propulsion:
Speed: 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range: 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi)
Complement: 204
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Command & Control:
  • Lockheed Martin Canada CMS 330 Combat System with AEGIS Fire Control Loop
  • USN Cooperative Engagement Capability (sensor netting)
  • Surveillance & Weapon Sensors:
  • Lockheed Martin Canada AN/SPY-7(V)1 Solid State 3D AESA radar
  • MDA Solid State AESA Target Illuminator
  • X & S Band Navigation Radars
  • Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems
  • Underwater Warfare Systems:
  • Hull-mounted sonar: Ultra Electronics Sonar S2150
  • Towed sonar: Ultra Electronics TFLAS[2] (variable depth)
Electronic warfare
& decoys:

Lockheed Martin Canada RAVEN electronic countermeasures[3]

Ultra Electronics SEA SENTOR S21700 towed torpedo countermeasures
Armament:
Aircraft carried:
Aviation facilities:
Notes:
  • Flexible Mission Bay:
    • Rolls-Royce Mission Bay Handling System
    • Modular mission support capacity for sea containers and vehicles
    • 2 × 9-12 m Multi-Role Boats
    • 1 × 9 m Rescue Boat

The replacement vessels will be somewhat larger than the existing Halifax class, and presumably provide a wide-area air defence capability, anti-submarine warfare capability, as well as anti-shipping capability. The design of these ships is currently underway and both the total number of ships and their capability will be dependent on the budget that is allocated to the project. In 2017, a new defence policy framework, entitled Strong, Secure and Engaged, was unveiled which promised significantly greater resources for the Surface Combatant Project - i.e. in the range of $60 billion.

By December 2017, the three submitted proposals were:[7]

On 19 October 2018, it was announced that the Type 26 was the "preferred design" and the government "will now enter into negotiations with the winning bidder to confirm it can deliver everything promised in the complex proposal."[8][9] However, after litigation by one of the failed bids, Alion Canada, was announced in November 2018, the government was ordered to postpone any discussion of contracts until the investigation by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal was complete.[10] The Trade Tribunal dismissed the complaint for lack of standing on 31 January 2019,[11] and the Canadian government announced they had signed the $60 billion contract with the winning bidders on 8 February 2019.[12] Alion appealed the decision to Federal Court, but discontinued its challenge in November 2019.[13]

History

The Single-Class Surface Combatant Project is a naval procurement program for the Royal Canadian Navy created to replace the aging vessels of the Iroquois and Halifax classes. The Iroquois class, an anti-air warfare destroyer, and the Halifax class, a multi-role frigate, have come to the end or are nearing the end of their service lives and require replacement.[14] The Iroquois class was originally scheduled for retirement around 2010 after 40 years in service;[15] the ships were then expected to have their service lives extended until replacements were commissioned. However, all four have been decommissioned, the last being HMCS Athabaskan in March 2017. The Halifax class is projected to end their service lives in the 2020s.[16]

The navy had investigated adopting the active phased array radar (APAR), leading observers to suggest that APAR and the associated SMART-L would equip the Single-Class Surface Combatant or upgraded Halifax-class ships during the FELEX (Frigate Equipment Life Extension) project. Upgrades to the existing Halifax class with such a system would likely be difficult since the APAR requires its own mast and might make the Halifax-class design top-heavy.[17][18]

In the 2008 Canadian National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, $26 billion was planned for the construction of the 15 vessels of the Single Class Surface Combatant Project.[19][20] The first ships were slated to become available in 2026. The initial plan called for separate bids for design and integration of systems aboard the vessels. The government later investigated merging those bids.[21]

On 26 October 2012 a letter of interest was published by Public Works and Government Services Canada to announce a session in which interested firms could find out the needs of DND for the new class and the project in general. The closing date was 5 November 2012.[22] On 20 January 2015, Irving Shipbuilding was named the prime contractor for the program.[23] The role of the lead contractor gave Irving Shipbuilding overall control of the project, and the company had already won the right to build the vessels at its yard in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This led to questions concerning the bidding process and the awarding of the contracts.[24] In fall 2015, high increases in costs were reported, more than doubling to $30 billion from $14 billion for the new warships.[25] The total cost of the naval ship building program rose from $26.2 billion to $42 billion in a study.[25] This put in jeopardy the number of ships that could be produced and raised the prospect of ships with reduced capabilities.[25]

In November 2015, seven companies were pre-qualified for the combat systems integrator role. Atlas Elektronik, DCNS, Lockheed Martin Canada, Saab Australia, Selex ES, Thales Nederland and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Canada all made the shortlist. As for the warship designer role, the following companies were pre-qualified: Alion-JJMA, BAE Systems, DCNS, Fincantieri, Navantia, Odense Maritime Technology and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Canada.[26]

On 13 June 2016, Minister of Public Services and Procurement Judy Foote announced Ottawa would buy and modify an off-the-shelf design for the new warships, instead of designing them from scratch. The minister said a competitive bid for an existing design would knock about two years off the process and save money.[27] The nearly $2 billion in research and development savings would allow for more ships to be built and the integration of more advanced technology with increased capability, over the long term.

It was originally anticipated that two CSC ship variants would have been acquired to replace the specific capabilities of the Iroquois-class destroyers and Halifax-class frigates. As originally intended, both variants would have the necessary combat capabilities to operate in air, surface and subsurface threat environments, a small number of ships (up to five) would have additionally incorporated the sensors, guided weapons and command and fire control facilities necessary to perform large-area air defence, along with having the facilities to be task force flagships. The remaining ships would have replaced the capabilities provided by the current fleet of Halifax-class frigates as a more general purpose/antisubmarine warfare variant.[26] However, only one variant will be acquired due to cost effectiveness, crew training efficiencies, and being better suited to the navy's operational needs.[28]

On 20 October 2020, Alan Williams (former Assistant Deputy Minister, Supply Operations Service in Public Works and Government Services Canada, and former Assistant Deputy Minister of Materiel at the Department of National Defence) released a paper examining the estimated life-cycle costs of Canada’s Canadian Surface Combatants. Williams estimated that the price tag to acquire, operate and support the Canadian Surface Combatants throughout their life-cycle of approximately 30 years will cost between $213.5 and $219.6 billion. Approximately two-thirds of these costs are attributable to the long-term operations and support (O&S) costs of the CSC.[29]

This report caught the attention of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. Additionally, the National Shipbuilding Strategy is set to have a planned Auditor General review in early 2021. This level of watchdog review and spiralling cost estimates drew parallels to Canada’s cancelled acquisition of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.[30]

Bids

In October 2016 it was reported that twelve bidders had been asked to submit their designs by 27 April 2017. Foote announced that only designs from ships already in service or mature existing designs would be part of the process. However, concerns were raised when it was revealed that BAE Systems would be expected to submit their Type 26 frigate for consideration even though it had not yet been built.[31][32] Delays in the bidding process were announced by the government in February 2017 after a third of the entrants requested more time to compile a bid. Bids were to be submitted by 22 June with a winner expected to be declared in Fall 2017.[33] Further delay in the bidding process arose due to the Government of Canada's demand that any intellectual property associated with the vessel be transferred upon purchase. This led to a diplomatic exchange and one of the bidders' nations to demand direct negotiations between governments.[34] The selection of the design was pushed to Spring 2018.[35] The deadline for bids was first extended to 17 November, then again to 30 November 2017.[36][37]

On 28 November 2017, BAE Systems along with its partners Lockheed Martin Canada; CAE Inc.; L3 Technologies; MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates; and Ultra Electronics, officially pitched their Type 26 warship design for the Canadian Surface Combatant project.[38] Another front-runner, a joint bid by Fincantieri and Naval Group (formerly DCNS) for their FREMM multipurpose frigate was offered informally on 6 November, directly to the National Defence Minister, Harjit Sajjan, which he did not accept. Fincantieri and Naval Group de facto withdrew from the process by not making a formal bid by 30 November 2017 deadline.[39] The company's fixed price offer of $20.9 billion was lower than the other bids. However, unlike the other bids, this price excludes the cost of design, infrastructure, spare parts, training, ammunition, contingencies and project management.[40] (Typically, the acquisition of the ships themselves only represents about 50-60% of the project’s overall budget). The unsolicited bid was rejected because it came outside of the official bidding process.[41] However, on 8 December 2017, Naval Group/Fincantieri announced they would continue to submit and support their unsolicited bid, with letters of project endorsement and promised long term support from French Defense Minister Florence Parly and Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti. Naval Group and Fincantieri said they could provide the vessels to the Canadian government for $20.9 billion and begin construction at Irving as early as 2019.[42]

It is also believed that due to concerns over the fairness of the bidding process, two European shipbuilders, possibly Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Denmark's Odense Maritime Technology, declined to submit bids.[43]

Confirmed contenders

Withdrawn bids

Rejected bids
  • / Naval Group/Fincantieri – FREMM-ER multipurpose frigate (rejected)[47]


In October 2018, the group led by BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin Canada and offering the Type 26, were selected as the preferred design.

Construction

Construction is officially slated to begin in the early 2020s, with the first ship to be delivered in the mid-2020s. Given the work required to complete the eight-vessel Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship project, the currently envisaged start date for construction is in 2023 with the first vessel probably not entering service until the latter 2020s.[48]

The last ship is expected to have been delivered, commissioned and upgraded to have complete operational capability by the late 2040s.[14][49]

List of ships
Name Pennant No. Builder Ordered Laid down Launched Commissioned Status Namesake
 Royal Canadian Navy
Canadian Surface Combatant
TBD Irving Shipbuilding and Lockheed Martin Canada-BAE Systems consortium, Halifax TBD Planned

References
  1. "RCN Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) Factsheet" (PDF). Royal Canadian Navy. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  2. "Ultra awarded subcontract to provide TLFAS Variable Depth Sonar for CSC". Naval News. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  3. "Royal Canadian Navy Unveils New Details on CSC Frigates". Naval News. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  4. Pugliese, David. "Canada commits $200 million to development of next generation of Seasparrow missile". ottawacitizen.com. Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  5. "Canada approved for SM-2 Block IIIC missile purchase". Janes.com. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  6. "New ships for navy, coast guard – National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy to cost $38.6 billion". CBC News. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  7. "Canada brushes off outside, fixed-price FREMM frigate offer for Canadian Surface Combatant project". Naval Today. 6 December 2017.
  8. "Lockheed Martin selected as preferred designer for Canada's next generation of warships". CBC News. 19 October 2018.
  9. "Government of Canada delivers on its commitment to the Navy by announcing next steps in fleet procurement". Public Services and Procurement Canada. 19 October 2018.
  10. Brewster, Murray (28 November 2018). "Frigate design decision faces another delay after latest challenge". CBC News. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  11. Brewster, Murray (1 February 2019). "Trade tribunal rejects rival's bid to block warship contract". CBC News. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  12. Brewster, Murray (8 February 2019). "Ottawa makes its $60B frigate project official, even as rival's court challenge goes forward". CBC News. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  13. "Procurement – Navy: Canadian Surface Combatant". Government of Canada. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  14. "Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC)". National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  15. "Canadian Navy". Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  16. "Canada first: DND's procurement and industrial strategy [CAN2015D1]". janes.com. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  17. FELEX, The Frigate Life Extension Programme Archived 6 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Backgrounder – Halifax-class Modernization (HCM) / Frigate Life Extension (FELEX)". National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  19. "Irving leads next generation warship project". Cape Breton Post. The Canadian Press. 21 January 2015. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  20. "Canada's biggest-ever military procurement at 'very high risk,' documents suggest". CTV News. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
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  28. Nucci, Christopher (November 2020). "The Future Canadian Surface Combatant". U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  29. Williams, Alan (20 October 2020). "ESTIMATED COSTS FOR THE CANADIAN SURFACE COMBATANTS (CSC)". Esprit de Corps. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  30. Brewster, Murray (23 December 2020). "Battle of the budget: DND gears up to defend cost of new warships in the new year". CBC News. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  31. Brewster, Murray (27 October 2016). "Cost and Canadian content concerns hover over warship plans". CBC News. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  32. Pugliese, David (13 October 2016). "Concerns over Canadian content, BAE's "paper" ship delay bids on new navy warships". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  33. Pugliese, David (17 February 2017). "Bidding on Canadian Surface Combatant program to be delayed, federal government confirms". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  34. Brewster, Murray (11 August 2017). "Impasse over intellectual property is tying up warship bids". CBC News. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  35. Brewster, Murray (6 September 2017). "Decision on navy's replacement frigate design pushed to 2018". CBC News. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
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  47. "Bold move backfires as Canada declines Naval Group-Fincantieri frigate offering".
  48. https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/local/irving-to-build-two-more-arctic-patrol-ships-in-halifax-314621/
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