RCN Media Release, 24 August 2020. Earlier this month the HMCS WINDSOR was undocked in HMC Dockyard Halifax, marking a key milestone in Canada’s submarine program. Undocking, or moving a vessel from dry dock to water, allows the WINDSOR to enter the final phase of her Transition Docking Work Period […]
Defence Procurement
61 posts
Procrustes, 11 August 2020. The recent confirmation that the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) will conduct and deliver yet another report on the mounting costs of Ottawa’s preferred bid winner for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program in October 2020 could lead to a reversal of course on this slowly evolving […]
Procrustes, 23 July 2020. Are cost overruns the norm in Canadian naval shipbuilding? If so, why? The Canadian warship procurement system is centrally oriented to keeping Canadian shipbuilders in business. Ottawa’s cost concerns and the navy’s scheduled delivery goals are only secondary considerations. The operating assumption is that, once construction […]
Procrustes, 15 July 2020. Is Ottawa going against an international cost-reduction trend in putting all its surface warship eggs in a one, large, expensive Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) design basket? Herein lies the age-old quality versus quantity debate concerning naval fleets. In one sense, the impulse toward a capable, general-purpose […]
Procrustes, 05 July 2020. There has been a longstanding debate in Canada about the extra costs (i.e., the ‘domestic premium’) for building warships in Canada. Certainly the best exponent of the view that this premium is minimal and that comparing Canadian prices with the ship prices of foreign suppliers is […]
It is usually a long process to procure new warships for the Royal Canadian Navy. Warships are both complex and expensive, so there are legitimate concerns about efficient use of taxpayer money. It should be noted that lengthy procurement processes do not just apply to warships - the Canadian Air […]
On June 10, the Joint Support Ship (JSS) Build Contract was awarded to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards Ltd. (VSY). This $2.4-billion contract will undertake the full construction phase for the replacement of the RCN’s two, previously decommissioned, Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (AOR) vessels. The award directly supports both a significant Strong Secure […]
Procrustes, 30 May 2020. Here is a brief background of the Alion complaint. Alion was one of the 12 pre-qualified Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) bidders, and one of the three companies which actually submitted a bid. On 19 October 2018, Lockheed Martin Canada Inc (LMC) was selected as the Preferred […]
On 21 March 2020, Canada awarded a contract to Zodiac Hurricane Technologies Ltd for the design and construction of 30 multi-role boats for Canada’s Halifax-Class Frigates. This award directly supports one of Canada’s Defence Policy “Strong, Secure and Engaged” commitments as well as the National Shipbuilding Strategy’s Construction of Small […]
Procrustes, 16 May 2020 As Canada contemplates some gradual easing of the many regulations imposed on virtually every sector of the national economy, economists and other public policy experts are in general agreement that paying for the current emergency measures and then finding money to help kick-start the locked down […]