The Canadian Navy is looking to replace its’ ageing tankers with some new “Joint Support Ships”. This is a $2.1 billion project that has gone largely unnoticed and unreported in Canada.
Janes (see link on left) is reporting that the first stage of the proposal has received approval. Unfortunately, there isn’t much more information than that publicly available. (Janes International is a subscription service… and a very very expensive one at that, so I only get the headlines)
Here is the Canadian Forces Website on the JSS
It gives some nice general information on the project.
New training vessels are also currently being built in Victoria. They will replace the current training vessels, as well as be use for surveillance/sovereignty missions on the coast and search and rescue.
On a more “offensive” note… the Canadian Forces are now looking at Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) to bolster defense of our gigantic coast. Historically, this was the responsibility of the Coast Guard, but unlike the US, the Coast Guard is a civilian operation (now under the Department of Fisheries) so it looks as though there is a push for the military to extend its’ presence in our near-coastal waters.
No proposals have yet been made.. but it looks like it’s moving strongly in that direction.