{"id":49911,"date":"2019-07-28T05:00:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=49911"},"modified":"2019-07-27T13:09:33","modified_gmt":"2019-07-27T17:09:33","slug":"fantasy-fleet-notions-for-the-rcn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2019\/07\/28\/fantasy-fleet-notions-for-the-rcn\/","title":{"rendered":"“Fantasy Fleet” notions for the RCN"},"content":{"rendered":"

I hate to use the term “fantasy fleet” when linking to a Ted Campbell<\/a> article … he’s far from being an obsessive who loves amassing lists of cool, gosh-wow hardware, as he’s a retired former army officer who actually does know what he’s talking about on military matters. I apply the term because no matter how sensible and practical these suggestions are (and I largely agree with them on those terms), there is no chance the current government or even a Conservative government under the Milk Dud could stand the political heat they’d take for devoting the kind of ongoing investment a fleet renewal and expansion like this would generate:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Kingston<\/em>-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel (MCDV) HMCS Moncton<\/em> in Baltimore harbour for Sailabration 2012.
Photo by Acroterion via Wikimedia Commons.<\/p><\/div>\n

… Canada’s 25 years old Kingston<\/em> class vessels have a range of up to 5,000 nautical miles and can carry unmanned aerial vehicles, but they are slow and are designed for underwater warfare, being fitted with specialist payloads to look for mines and other things on the seabed … The Royal Canadian Navy has said, in the past, that it needs 25\u00b1 surface combatants (the Navy uses the term \u201cbottoms\u201d when it means surface ships) and Canada has, now, 12 of the 30-year-old (but still lethal) Halifax<\/em> class frigates and we also have, right now, 12 very useful little Kingston<\/em> class ships, too. Canada plans (hopes?) to have 12 of the new Type 26<\/em> ships in the future, plus 5 of the very large (6,500+ tons) Harry DeWolf<\/em> class Arctic patrol ships \u2026 so we are going from 24 down to 17?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A Chilean navy boarding team fast-ropes onto the flight deck of RCN Halifax<\/em>-class frigate HMCS Calgary<\/em> (FFH 335) during multinational training exercise Fuerzas Aliadas PANAMAX<\/em> 2009.
US Navy photo via Wikimedia Commons.<\/p><\/div>\n

My guesstimate is that a proper Canadian Navy needs, in addition to supply\/support ships, at least:<\/p>\n