Canadian military to launch initial steps in new $5-billion warship project

The Royal Canadian Navy is pushing for a fleet of continental corvettes to replace the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels. Photo by CORPORAL NEIL CLARKSON /CANADIAN FORCES

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The Canadian Forces will go to the defence industry sometime this year to gather information on what domestic firms can offer in the building of a new $5 billion fleet of warships.

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Industry representatives were told at an April 9 briefing in Ottawa that a request for information or RFI will be issued for what is being called the Continental Defence Corvette. A RFI is part of the initial stages of the procurement of the new fleet of 16 to 20 corvettes.

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The new vessels will be designed as homeland defence warships capable of patrolling and protecting Canadian waters, including the Gulf of St. Lawrence and up to the Arctic ice edge.

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The idea of a new fleet of corvettes had been circulating for years in Canadian navy circles and was once seen as a distant dream.

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But that changed with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s policy that calls for the spending of half a trillion dollars on defence over the next decade. Canadian military insiders say the Liberal government is keen to launch as many new equipment projects as it can to reassure the Trump administration and NATO that it is pulling its weight on defence matters.

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The new ships will eventually replace the Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels which are in the process of being retired from service. Unlike the coastal defence vessels, the Continental Defence Corvettes will have a significant array of weapons.

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It is unclear, however, what month the RFI will be released to industry.

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The Department of National Defence referred questions from the Ottawa Citizen about the release of the RFI over to Public Services and Procurement Canada. PSPC then referred the Ottawa Citizen back to DND.

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DND did not answer the questions.

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The Royal Canadian Navy wants to eventually acquire what it is calling a Continental Defence Corvette. Rendering by Royal Canadian Navy. Photo by ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY

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With the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels already in the process of being taken out of service, Topshee told the Chronicle Herald he wants the first corvette to be produced and in the water quickly. “My heart tells me I need it in five years,” he said.

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But according to the April 9 briefing for the defence industry officials, the Royal Canadian Navy doesn’t expect the contract for the corvettes to be awarded until 2030 and the first ship to be fully operational in 2039. Navy officers, however, say that schedule could perhaps be sped up if Canadian industry can build the ships faster.

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The Continental Defence Corvettes are being envisioned as ships that can free up the navy’s new River-class destroyers. The corvettes would allow the River-class to focus on high-end threats, missile defence and overseas deployments, according to the April 9 briefing.