By Scott Taylor
The Royal Canadian Navy is at a significant juncture at present, facing a critical shortfall of trained personnel as well as an aged-out fleet that is also lacking in numbers.
The result has led to the November 2023 astonishing public admission by the commander of the RCN,Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, that his organization is unable to meet their present and near-future operational requirements. That is quite the erosion of maritime security for a nation which at the end of the Second World War, boasted the world's 4th largest navy.
At present, the RCN has 12 Halifax-class frigates in operational service and these warships are the backbone of the fleet. All of these frigates were recently modernized, but the first of the class, HMCS Halifax entered service way back in 1991.
In other words they are not new. In addition to the frigates, there are still 4 of an original 12 Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV's) on the RCN's books. As the very name implies, these were meant for coastal water patrols.
However operational demands meant that for years, particularly as the frigate modernization program was under way, the MCDV's were tasked with a plethora of blue water operations.
Without any integral air defence capability, these MCDV's were out of their depth, literally, when conducting patrols as far afield as the west coast of Africa. Last summer eight of the worn out old MCDV workhorses were de-commissioned from service.
To some degree their retirement has been offset by the new fleet of Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) entering active service. To date five of an eventual six AOPS have been commissioned and are operational.
Which brings us to the Canadian Submarine Squadron. In the late 1990's Canada obtained four problem plagued, used diesel electric submarines from the British Royal Navy. To say that these submarines have remained problem plagued would be an understatement.
In 2019-2020 the RCN subs recorded zero days at sea and in 2026 only one submarine is considered fully operational while the other three remain in extended refit.
To support any extended deployment operations, the RCN currently have a leasing agreement with Federal Fleet to provide the support ship MV Asterix. This unique arrangement was the result of the RCN's urgent need to replace HMCS Protecteur and Preserver as both of those Auxiliary-Oiler-Replenishment support ships were de-commissioned before their replacements could be built.
Entering service with the RCN in January 2018, it was originally expected that the MV Asterix contract would end in 2021.
However, as the new HMCS Protecteur and Preserver Joint Support Ships (JSS) are now expected to be delivered sometime in 2026-2027, the MV Asterix still has a crucial role to play for the RCN in the interim.
So to recap the present state of the RCN; twelve old frigates, four old MCDV's, five new AOPS, four old submarines and a leased, civilian owned, very capable support ship. The good news for fans and friends of the RCN is that a huge renewal of capability is on the drawing board.
The former Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program has recently been renamed the River Class Destroyer project. This ambitious acquisition will see Irving shipyard in Halifax build up to 15 of these 8,000 ton River Class destroyers which are based on the British Royal Navy's Type 26 design.
In February 2019 a contract was awarded to Irving to begin work on the first three of the class, HMCS Fraser, Saint Laurent and MacKenzie. None of these ships are expected to be operational until the 2030's.
To replace the MCDV fleet the RCN is seeking a new Multi-Mission Corvette design in the 1,000 ton range.
However, given the amount of capability that the RCN desire to be incorporated into these corvettes, it may not be possible to keep to that weight requirement.
With Canadian shipyards already loaded up on their order books for both RCN and Coast Guard vessels, the Multi-Mission Corvettes aren’t expected to enter service before the late 2030's.
Without a doubt the most ambitious goal on the RCN's wishlist is the acquisition of up to twelve modern, diesel-electric powered attack submarines. The competition for the Canadian Patrol Submarine project has been narrowed down to just two potential shipyards, Hanwha Ocean of South Korea and TKMS of Germany. An announcement on the winner is expected very soon.
The Korean bid offers the earliest delivery date with the first sub in the RCN's possession by 2032. Which would of course be good news for Canada's long-suffering submariners.
As mentioned earlier, Seaspan Shipyard in Vancouver will soon be delivering the two JSS, HMCS Protecteur and Preserver to the RCN. Once they are commissioned it will need to be determined if there is still a role for MV Asterix. In the recent past, the RCN had a third Auxiliary-Oiler-Replenishment ship, the HMCS Provider. This depth of such capability allowed for a constant availability of an AOR on each coast, with one vessel in extended re-fit.
While this proposed blueprint to rebuild the RCN addresses the number of hulls and weapon systems, the other half of the equation crippling the navy is the shortage of trained personnel.
Even if all of our warships were seaworthy, the RCN would be hard pressed to properly crew even half that number of ships.
