Defence Industry Daily (13 Oct 10 – “Canada’s C$2.9 B “Joint Support Ship” Project, Take 2”) and Dave Pugliese's Defence Watch (20 Oct 10 – “Joint Support Ship Less Capable But Air Force Can Pick Up the Slack Says DND”) indicate that the Department of National Defence has decided to adjust the scope […]
AOR
If the Canadian navy had possessed a large ship available to deploy in the case of such incidents as the Haitian Earthquake: an AOR, JSS, Large Deck Amphib, or a RoRo Vessel taken up from trade, it could have taken huge quantities of building supplies, mechanized vehicles such as bull […]
The announcement on the evening of Friday, August 22, 2008 of the cancellation of the JSS procurement should have been no surprise to any observer of naval and military affairs. The proposed ships were too innovative and too complex to succeed in the Canadian political and military environment. In a […]
The unexpected press release announcing the termination of procurement processes for two new types of ships for the Canadian Coast Guard and Navy was no doubt a heavy blow. And for the perennially under funded Coast Guard, the indefinite delay for the twelve new patrol ships they'd been counting on […]
The unexpected press release announcing the termination of procurement processes for two new types of ships for the Canadian Coast Guard and navy was no doubt a heavy blow. And for the perennially under funded coast guard, the indefinite delay for the twelve new patrol ships they’d been counting on […]
The government, national defence, naval priorities and expeditionary requirements have not been well served by explanations for reconsideration of the approved JSS program given the economic importance and operational urgency in replacement of the old fleet supply vessels. These have focused on bids that have greatly exceeded a badly miscalculated budget for capital and support allowances. This was set in the face […]
I was the communications officer on HMCS Protecteur when she was deployed to East Timor in 1999. While we did yeoman work supporting forces ashore with fuel, stores and an ‘RnR’ platform for allied troops, our many shortcomings were painfully obvious. We could not communicate with our own troops ashore, […]
Having just reviewed Dr. Sloan’s book (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005) for Canadian Naval Review, her comments on the JSS are fresh in my mind. Sloan wrote that “rapid deployability is dependent upon the existence of strategic lift, including airlift and sealift.” She is concerned that only three JSS will provide […]
The Government is presently debating whether to buy two or three of the Joint Support Ships, and how to resolve its bidding dilemma. Both teams, led respectively by SNC-Lavalin Profac Inc. and Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems Canada, were unable to deliver three ships for the amount stipulated by the government. […]
This February, David Pugliese reported that a leaked copy of the Canada First Defence Strategy would retire our current AOR in 2010, two years before the JSS was delivered in 2012. Many critiqued this plan as it cut a critical capability without providing any savings. I called the plan "harebrained" […]