David Dunlop, 28 February 2020. Nuclear propulsion of submarines is ideal for long distances and extended under-ice missions. But is there a better, more affordable and collaborative way? Off-the-shelf air-independent propulsion (AIP) submarines such as the French Barracuda Block 1A class being designed for Australia or the Japanese Soyru-class AIP […]
Submarines
22 posts
It seems that new submarines won’t be part of the future mix for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), at least in the foreseeable future. The government has quickly rejected a critical key Senate committee recommendation to at least take the first steps in replacing our aging Victoria-class submarines with a […]
6 November 2018. The news out of Asia is always interesting. But from a naval perspective, it’s particularly interesting. There are multiple states spending huge sums to update their navies, illustrating what everyone has been saying – that in terms of possible future conflict, the Asia-Pacific region is a maritime theatre. […]
1 October 2018. The characteristics of modern 21st century submarines are: endurance, stealth, freedom of movement and versatility. The best sensor weapon that gives others pause is, without question, another submarine. If Canada does not invest in a modern submarine capability, its navy will be unable to patrol its three […]
28 September 2018. There have been many discussions about the missing element in the National Shipbuilding Strategy – i.e., submarines. In the not so distant future, Canada will have to start thinking about submarines. The Victoria-class subs are all up and running – after a slow start due to extended […]
We’ve published several commentaries in recent issues of CNR about the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent. In particular the commentaries have discussed how it is important to remember the conventional elements that are necessary for deterrence. But there is concern that the RN capability (and capacity) is […]
Canada is in the early stages of thinking about replacing its submarines. Submarines are not part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, but they are mentioned in the new defence policy. As complex platforms, they’re extremely expensive, and it will be a long and painful process before Canada has them and […]
Given that people are talking about the need to make a decision about new submarines for the Canadian Navy, it’s perhaps useful to look at the experience elsewhere. Australia is always a good comparison for Canada, and it recently decided to procure new submarines. But clearly there are already some […]
In the early 1990s, the acquisition of new conventional submarines, as promised by the Conservative government after the cancellation of the nuclear submarine program in 1989, was believed unattainable. Thus the naval program was realigned and changed to “Maintain the Submarine Capability “as it was evident that the OBERON Class […]
Canadian submarine interests are extremely relevant, and can be divided into three categories: the defence of Canada and North America; supporting Canadian expeditionary deployments; and supporting Canada’s interest in global maritime stability. If the Canadian government does not invest in a modern submarine capability, its navy will not be able […]