amphibious – Canadian Naval Review

Some Thoughts on A Canadian Arctic Amphibious Capability

By Les Mader, 8 January 2026 Since the 2020 publication of a visionary article by Colonel Brian Wentzell, the Canadian Naval Review (CNR) and the Canadian Army Journal (CAJ) have […]

RCN Polar Class 2 Amphibious Icebreaker

3 Comments

By David Prior There is growing awareness that the RCN requires Arctic-capable ships that can provide true logistical capability throughout the Arctic at any time of year. The USCG also […]

An Opportunity for Canada to Step In and Step Up

23 Comments

By Blair Shaw, 22 November 2024 With the Royal Navy announcing the decommissioning of HMS Albion and Bulwark, could this be an opportunity for Canada to step in and step […]

How the RCN delivers an Expeditionary Force – then and now

18 Comments

By Peter Sanderson, 13 April 2023. The early 1950s were a busy time for the Canadian Forces. As a founding member of NATO, the Army sent 27 Brigade and the […]

A Possible Canadian Arctic Amphibious Capability

23 Comments

By Les Mader, 6 December 2022 Over the past three years, Colonel (Ret’d) Brian Wentzell, Mr José Cañadas Mendez and I (with advice from Mr Guy Lavoie) have written a […]

Sea-to-Shore connectors achieve milestone

By Garry Noble, 15 November 2022 The RCN issued a news release including a video on November 1 regarding training on the Sea-to-Shore connectors https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/maple-leaf/rcn/2022/11/new-barges-bring-exciting-capability-to-the-rcn.html The two minute video shows […]

Continued NATO membership may require buying Mistral LHDs

25 Comments

By P.M. Sanderson, Capt (Ret’d), Canadian Army, Reserve, 9 October 2022 Presently there is no ‘push’ by the Canadian government for amphibious ships nor is there any ‘pull’ from the […]

Some Lessons for Canada – Australia’s Development of a ‘Green water’ Amphibious Capability

1 Comment

By Les Mader, 25 July 2022 The 19:41 minute video from 2020 [link below] describes the 20-year Australian effort to convert the country’s basic amphibious capability into a world-class regional […]

CCG Polar Icebreaker and Strategic Sealift Concept for Canada: Something to Consider

6 Comments

By David Dunlop, 28 June 2022 This concept has been bantered about before but deserves a second look for the acquisition of Canadian Polar-class icebreakers and Strategic Sealift Capabilities. The […]

Ship-to-Shore Connectors

3 Comments

By Garry Noble, 12 March 2022 When the news release was published in September 2019 that the Navy would acquire 5 connectors, did anyone think it would be 26 months […]

Transporting People and Material from Ship to Shore

2 Comments

By Dr. Ann Griffiths, 11 February 2022 We’ve all seen depictions of the D-Day landings in France in the Second World War. These landings provide a classic example of how […]

New Capabilities Must Be Thoughtfully Developed

It has just recently come to my attention that Ken Hansen recycled here in 2011 much of his 2007 criticism in the Canadian Military Journal (CMJ) (see Link 1 below) […]

Army theory and naval practice seldom meet in amphibious operations*

*Moderators Note: This post is extracted from an article published in the ‘Views and Opinions’ section of Canadian Military Journal (Summer 2007): 79-80. You can read the original article here. […]

Logjams and logistical challenges

On Tuesday, 19 January, Murray Brewster of the Canadian Press filed a report that described the logistical problems confronting the Canadian Forces as they ramped up for Operation Hestia. Quoting […]

Can we learn from a missed opportunity?

The Australians purchased the surplus Bay-Class LSD(A) Largs Bay from the UK for $100M AUS dollars this month. News reports suggest the ship will be in service with the Royal […]

Secretary Gates on the need for “Swift-moving Expeditionary Forces”

The following quote from Secretary Gates should make many in DND quite uncomfortable, particularly those who have turned their backs on a meaningful Canadian amphibious capability in favour of sending Leopard […]

Whose ‘Big Honking Ships’ are those on the horizon?

Reports, all unsubstantiated so far, continue to surface about the possibility of Canada acquiring a ship or ships capable of amphibious operations. (See: “Big Honkin’ Ships” by Chris MacLean in […]

What will become of the naval reserve?

At the Maritime Security Conference this past June, Commodore Mark Norman, then the Atlantic Fleet Commander, gave a very candid dinner address on his views about the future of the […]

“Rethinking Littoral Warfare” by Ong Weichong

1 Comment

* Moderator’s Note: This commentary was published on Monday, 31 May, as RSIS Commentaries 57/2010. The commentary is reprinted here with the permission of Mushahid Ali, Senior Fellow, RSIS. My […]

‘Influence Squadrons’ for Canada?

Pertinent to this discussion and David Mugridge’s op-ed piece is an article by Cdr. Henry J. Hendrix, USN, in the April issue of USNI Proceedings (“More Hendersons, Less Bonds,” full […]