I agree that with the quoted budget there is no way Canada will be able to buy 15 large frigates.
Thank you, you saved me from doing this as it irritates me as well. Notable that other system such as COMBATSS-21 are referred to AEGIS light.
All of us have issues with our pollies on a variety of issues but from my vantage point Australian pollies are doing a much better job than their Canadian counterparts, certainly on defence and probably on several other portfolios as well or put another way, your pasture is definitely greener than ours! Cheers, JF.John.
Do appreciate your postings.
Read everyone in the RAN, RCN forums.
Like Canada our useless pollies rule the roost
Keep up the good work.
Oh totally DOA. Off hand the proposal seems a bit far fetched for me and poorly thought out. Going from 4 to 12? People think Australia going from 6 to 12 will be near impossible and our submarines are actually working with plans how to expand the force so Canada going from 4 to 12 already tells me there dreaming.
The secret is to make it an ongoing build.
Defence procurement staff in Australia have basically been told that we have 50 years of continuous work ahead of us... far better than the stop start process of times past
Well at least until the next opportunistic PM sees cutting the continuous build going forward as a good cost saving measure. Their budget looks good for a couple of years then their successors have to face the investment hump to get back to where we were.
well, the greens were saying that we could save more money by not buying submarines.
The only thing useful from this report is the fact that it acknowledges the importance of submarine capability for the RCN, but the comment on the AIP capability shows how ill informed they are IMO. If we are serious about artic sovereignty and want to have a legitimate naval combat capability in the arctic then SSN's are the only option... spending that much $ on anything else is foolish.
Yes, at least this report acknowledges the importance of a sub fleet. I agree, SSNs make more sense for us because of the Arctic. There are other considerations as well such as support for our nuclear industry and the ability to have subs that can keep up with a USN CBG. Unfortunately the only realistic choice is the Virginia SSN and Electric Boat has enough work with current orders for SSNs and the forcoming Columbia SSBN. If something could be worked out to set up a Canadian yard with US help then this idea would be a small maybe. Would Canada be better off with a heavier emphasis on submarine capability over surface? IMHO, yes but it will pollies on both sides of the border who would will decide this, hopefully after seeking RCN and USN advice. To be clear, the chances of SSNs are just above zero and new SSKs are only a hair above that.
There is nothing really stopping Canada from shadowing Australia.To be clear, the chances of SSNs are just above zero and new SSKs are only a hair above that.
That may be too late for them, those Upholder/ Victoria's are slightly older than the Collins fleet. They would have to commit pretty soon if that was the case. By past musing on this and other forums I just hope the French arn't taking us for a ride.
...yes and a substantial investment has been made to keep them running for quite a while. Pollies will likely throw more money into them if necessary in order to delay a new build.
Your making a rational statement, when do the politicians do anything rational for defence?