Canadian government vows to accelerate Canadian Surface Combatant delivery

Canadian government representatives today announced a “streamlined and transparent procurement approach” which promises to deliver the Canadian Surface Combatant to the Royal Canadian Navy up to two years sooner than originally planned.

The CAD$26 billion project will replace the country’s Iroquois-class destroyers and Halifax-class frigates.

Under the refined procurement approach, Canada will select an existing warship design to modify, rather than continuing with the previous approach of selecting a warship designer and a combat systems integrator to custom design the Canadian Surface Combatant.

The government used input from industry and Steve Brunton, its shipbuilding expert advisor, to develop the streamlined procurement approach.

“The Canadian Surface Combatant project is the most complex procurement in Canadian history. Along with the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships project, it will create 2,400 direct shipbuilding jobs in Halifax,” Judy M. Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, said. “This streamlined approach is aligned with our efforts to modernize procurement and to make it easier for Canadian businesses to work with government.”

Construction of the CSC ships is scheduled to begin after the completion of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships in the early 2020s and the procurement is expected to span 20 to 25 years.