The Canadian Armed Forces are taking preliminary steps to renew its submarine fleet, a decision one academic says they should abandon right now..The CAF leaked its plans in comments shared exclusively with the Canadian Press. .“The CAF is establishing a Canadian patrol submarine project to inform timely governmental decision-making about a potential replacement class of submarines, and avoid any gap in submarine capability,” Navy spokesman Lt.-Cmdr. Jordan Holder said..Canada’s current fleet consists of four submarines bought second-hand from the U.K. in 1998 for $750 million. The submarines have spent more time in the repair shop than at sea..James Fergusson, deputy director for the Centre of Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba told Western Standard he “was probably the only academic in the country” against the submarine purchase and he is also wary of this one..“The navy says ‘oh it’s important because of the proliferation of submarines out there, we need submarines, we need to invest in anti-submarine hunters, we need them in the Arctic.’ We hear this repeatedly. But basically in my view, this is the navy thinking of what it means to be a navy,” Fergusson said..“The Americans need someone to play with, to train with. This gets us integrated deeper into the U.S. navy so we can sail the seven seas and the Blue Water Fleet, etc., etc., which we already do with our frigates…The strategic defense argument really is not the real one that’s driving this.”.The Liberals’ 2017 “Strong, Secure, Engaged” defense policy said the current submarine fleet would “undergo incremental modernization in the mid-2020s, which will ensure their continued effectiveness out to the mid-2030s.” Although it earmarked more military spending, there was no allocation for the replacement of the submarines..“Where are we going to get the money for this? If you start to add up the new fighter project, you start to add in the new combat vessel project, billions and billions and billions of dollars, you start to add in NORAD and North American defense modernization requirements…I just don’t see [it] in the context of what’s coming economically. The government may be spending like drunken sailors getting ready for election, but one day it’s going to come to roost. And history tells us when it does, particularly if’s a Liberal government, they target the defence. These are going to be slashed,” Fergusson said..Fergusson expects a bias towards building new submarines at home. However, since there will be only a half-dozen built and Canada hasn’t built any in decades, it would be remarkably expensive..“We’re going to have to recognize that we’re buying off the shelf from someone. And that won’t go over politically no matter where we go,” said Fergusson, who is also a professor of political science..Australia is set to buy 12 submarines designed by France, the culmination of a process that began more than ten years ago. The $80 billion price tag is nearly double the original estimate..“It should be a dead end. Simple as that. It will go nowhere. So my advice to the Canadian Navy – they won’t like me – the national defense in the government: do not go there. There are much better, more valuable capabilities that we need to sustain, increase and modernize and enlarge the capacity,” Fergusson said..“We have to get much better at surveillance, intelligence, reconnaissance requirements. We’re going to have to replace the Auroras with new systems. We have drones we need, we need to start thinking about more than one military satellite. And we need to think about this in terms of how this contributes to coalition allied security, both NATO and [the U.S.]..“We can’t afford to do all this. We just simply can’t. We haven’t for years. And submarines is one of those areas that needs to go the way of the dodo bird in Canada.”.Lee Harding is a Western Standard correspondent based in Saskatchewan.
The Canadian Armed Forces are taking preliminary steps to renew its submarine fleet, a decision one academic says they should abandon right now..The CAF leaked its plans in comments shared exclusively with the Canadian Press. .“The CAF is establishing a Canadian patrol submarine project to inform timely governmental decision-making about a potential replacement class of submarines, and avoid any gap in submarine capability,” Navy spokesman Lt.-Cmdr. Jordan Holder said..Canada’s current fleet consists of four submarines bought second-hand from the U.K. in 1998 for $750 million. The submarines have spent more time in the repair shop than at sea..James Fergusson, deputy director for the Centre of Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba told Western Standard he “was probably the only academic in the country” against the submarine purchase and he is also wary of this one..“The navy says ‘oh it’s important because of the proliferation of submarines out there, we need submarines, we need to invest in anti-submarine hunters, we need them in the Arctic.’ We hear this repeatedly. But basically in my view, this is the navy thinking of what it means to be a navy,” Fergusson said..“The Americans need someone to play with, to train with. This gets us integrated deeper into the U.S. navy so we can sail the seven seas and the Blue Water Fleet, etc., etc., which we already do with our frigates…The strategic defense argument really is not the real one that’s driving this.”.The Liberals’ 2017 “Strong, Secure, Engaged” defense policy said the current submarine fleet would “undergo incremental modernization in the mid-2020s, which will ensure their continued effectiveness out to the mid-2030s.” Although it earmarked more military spending, there was no allocation for the replacement of the submarines..“Where are we going to get the money for this? If you start to add up the new fighter project, you start to add in the new combat vessel project, billions and billions and billions of dollars, you start to add in NORAD and North American defense modernization requirements…I just don’t see [it] in the context of what’s coming economically. The government may be spending like drunken sailors getting ready for election, but one day it’s going to come to roost. And history tells us when it does, particularly if’s a Liberal government, they target the defence. These are going to be slashed,” Fergusson said..Fergusson expects a bias towards building new submarines at home. However, since there will be only a half-dozen built and Canada hasn’t built any in decades, it would be remarkably expensive..“We’re going to have to recognize that we’re buying off the shelf from someone. And that won’t go over politically no matter where we go,” said Fergusson, who is also a professor of political science..Australia is set to buy 12 submarines designed by France, the culmination of a process that began more than ten years ago. The $80 billion price tag is nearly double the original estimate..“It should be a dead end. Simple as that. It will go nowhere. So my advice to the Canadian Navy – they won’t like me – the national defense in the government: do not go there. There are much better, more valuable capabilities that we need to sustain, increase and modernize and enlarge the capacity,” Fergusson said..“We have to get much better at surveillance, intelligence, reconnaissance requirements. We’re going to have to replace the Auroras with new systems. We have drones we need, we need to start thinking about more than one military satellite. And we need to think about this in terms of how this contributes to coalition allied security, both NATO and [the U.S.]..“We can’t afford to do all this. We just simply can’t. We haven’t for years. And submarines is one of those areas that needs to go the way of the dodo bird in Canada.”.Lee Harding is a Western Standard correspondent based in Saskatchewan.
