Canada is finally getting powerful new surface ships to replace its aging naval fleet

The Royal Canadian Navy is getting a powerful new upgrade to its surface fleet in the form of the River-class destroyer. But what will the new vessels be able to do and when will they be ready for service?

On June 28th, the Canadian Ministry of Defence officially confirmed that construction on Canada’s new warship fleet of naval destroyers meant to replace the Royal Canadian Navy's older surface ships had finally begun. 

A new release from the Government of Canada reported that the Minister of Defence Bill Blair was joined by the President of Irving Shipbuilding, Dirk Lesko, and the Commander of Royal Canadian Navy, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee at a ceremony to celebrate the new fleet. 

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The shipbuilding project is the largest in Canada since the Second World War, and a historic milestone for the Royal Canadian Navy according to Blair—who revealed the new ships will be known in Canada as River-class destroyers. 

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Blair also said the country’s new destroyers would provide the Canadian Armed Forces “with the tools that they need to defend our national interests for decades to come” and ensure Canada could deploy a “state-of-the-art, combat-ready fleet of warships.”

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The new Canadian Surface Fleet project has budgeted $56 to $60 billion dollars for the construction of 15 River-class warships, which will be built by Irving Shipbuilding and Lockheed Martin Canada-BAE Systems in Halifax according to Militarnyi.

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CBC News reported that the 25-year shipbuilding construction project has been projected to create as many as 10,000 new jobs and will generate in excess of $40 billion dollars for Canada’s Gross Domestic Product over the construction period. 

The new ships of the Canadian Surface Fleet will replace the Iroquois-class destroyers and Halifax-class frigates. they will also operate as state-of-the-art multi-functional ships that can cover the roles of the vessels the River-class destroyers are replacing. 

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The Canadian government's press release on the new destroyers described the vessels as fast and maneuverable but also capable of taking on the anti-aircraft and anti-submarine roles of a warship. The River-class destroyer also has less obvious attributes.

Canada’s new ships can perform larger vessel and fleet escort duties, can fight within a battlegroup, and can defend against a wide range of general threats the country’s navy might face while sailing on the high seas. 

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“The River-class will be Canada’s major component of maritime combat power, enabling us to continue to monitor and defend our own coastal waters, and contribute significantly to international naval operations alongside our Allies,” the press release noted. 

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"We need to build those ships to make sure that we continue to protect and defend our waters, to assure our sovereignty and security in an increasingly dangerous world," Vice-Admiral Topshee said according to CBC News.

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Vice-Admiral Topshee later stated that the new ships being built for the Royal Canadian Navy are similar to those being built for its British and Australian allies, though he noted their use case in Canada would be different. 

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"For them, they are anti-submarine warfare escorts.” Vice-Admiral Topshee said. ”For us, they're a command and control platform. They're an air warfare destroyer platform.” 

"So it really is a traditional destroyer capable of doing anything a warship needs to do, anywhere in the world,” Vice-Admiral Topshee added about how the River-class ships would be deployed by the Royal Canadian Navy. 

The Canadian Surface Fleet is based on the Type 26 warship design being built by BAE Systems for the United Kingdom and Australia according to the Government of Canada. However, the Canadian warships will have better sensors, radar, and weapons. 

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Navy Lookout reported that the first new Canadian River-class destroyers are projected to enter service sometime in the 2030s, though no concrete date was provided, and added that the vessel would not be commissioned into service until 2050.

The River-class destroyers will be classified as "guided missile, helicopter-capable destroyers" according to Navy Lookout, which noted that there is some skepticism that Canada will eventually receive its planned 15 ships since the time horizon for their delivery extends to the 2050s.

Minister Blair and Vice-Admiral Topshee revealed the names of the first three vessels of the new fifteen-ship fleet at the 'start of the construction' event in June and announced the ships would be known as His Majesty’s Canadian Ships Fraser, Saint-Laurent, and Mackenzie. 

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