Canadian navy aims to have 3 submarines at sea by end of 2021
For the first time in seven years, the Canadian navy expects to have three of its four submarines operating simultaneously by the end of 2021.
The achievement would mark the realization of a plan that was scuttled last year by faulty maintenance work and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The commander of the Canadian submarine force says the success of the plan depends largely on HMCS Corner Brook. The sub left dry dock in Victoria on June 13, following years of repairs and upgrades since running aground off Vancouver Island in 2011.
The sub was supposed to return to service last summer but its re-entry was delayed by a year after a maintenance contractor caused significant damage to one of its main ballast tanks.
The Corner Brook is now set to undergo a series of in-water tests, ideally culminating in a camber dive this fall and sea trials before the year is out.
Upon its return to service, the Corner Brook will join two other submarines – HMCS Victoria and HMCS Windsor – that were supposed to return to operations early last year but were instead tied up when maintenance work was stalled amid the pandemic.
HMCS Victoria eventually returned to the waters of B.C. last September, followed six months later by HMCS Windsor in Halifax.
If all goes according to plan, the end of 2021 will be first time Canada has had three subs in service simultaneously since 2014, according to Maritime Forces Pacific spokesperson Capt. Chelsea Dubeau.
The overlap in operating schedules will be short-lived, however. HMCS Victoria is slated to begin several years of maintenance work next summer after spending less than two years in the water.
The rigorous maintenance schedule underscores one of the main criticisms of Canada’s 40-year-old submarines, which have spent more time in repairs than in the water since they were bought second-hand from Britain in 1998.
“What one must understand is that a submarine – by design with the maintenance model – is only available approximately 50 per cent of the time,” says submarine force commander Capt. Jean Stéphane Ouellet. “We’re making great strides right now to having three submarines back to operations by the end of the year.”
The fourth submarine, HMCS Chicoutimi, is currently in dry dock, where it will remain into 2023.
TESTING UNDERWAY ON NEW TORPEDO
As the submarines cycle through the maintenance and modernization work necessary to extend their life into the mid-2030s, they are each being equipped with new sonar, communications and torpedo capabilities.
A new heavyweight torpedo – the Mark 48 Mod 7 – was first sought by the sub force in 2011, according to the U.S. Defence Security Cooperation Agency, the office in Washington that clears large foreign military sales.
“We’re just starting to receive those weapons right now,” says Ouellet. “The first time that we’re going to be firing from a submarine will be in 2022.”
HMCS Windsor has been selected to test-fire the new torpedo off the East Coast next summer before the sub-sea weapon is eventually rolled out across the fleet. The Mod 7 torpedo, a conversion of the navy’s current Mod 4 weapon, is now being test-fired from a barge in Nanoose Bay, B.C.
“The main thing is that we went from an analog weapon to a digital weapon,” Ouellet says. “I can’t get into the details of what the new weapon provides us but it’s an increase in capability.”
The subs are also gaining the capability to better detect icebergs, according to the sub commander.
A new Lockheed Martin sonar system is being installed fleet-wide and could open the door to undersea missions in the Far North.
The high-frequency sonar “is an enabler to Arctic operations for the Victoria-class submarine,” Ouellet says, given its improved accuracy in detecting sea ice over the current system. “Should the need to arise to essentially get involved in Arctic security, we will do so.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
RCMP uncovers plot to sell drones and equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
BREAKING Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
'There was a lot of black smoke': Crane operator sounds alarm while trapped during highrise fire in Halifax
A tower crane operator alerted emergency crews after noticing a fire on a construction site in Halifax Tuesday morning.
Cherry blossoms blooming in Canada: Here's what to know
There is a swaying sea of colour in some cities across Canada, and it's a sure sign of spring: cherry blossoms are in bloom.
Murder charges filed against U.S. woman who crashed into building hosting birthday party, killing 2 kids
A Michigan woman was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder and other crimes after prosecutors say she drunkenly smashed her SUV into a boat club that was hosting a birthday party, killing two young siblings and injuring several other people.