Given that the same Halifax shipyard is slated to build both ships, CSC construction can’t begin until the delayed patrol ship project is completed. Military inflation runs at 7-11% annually, meaning the initial dollar figure committed by the government to purchase military hardware buys less and less of it with each additional month. Serious delays with another part of the government’s shipbuilding strategy, the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship project, pose a substantial risk to the surface combatants. Delays are especially perilous in the world of defence procurement. Some worrying setbacks in the initiative are already starting to emerge, placing added importance on Harper getting the decision right. Procuring American-designed ships means that our navy would be interoperable with theirs, which is critical during joint operations. Further, future Canadian military missions will likely be conducted as part of a coalition involving American forces. No European firm can offer a comparable service. military maintains a global supply network of replacement parts that the RCN could easily tap into if it procures American-designed ships. The lack of transparency in that project incited public outrage that the government certainly doesn’t want to rekindle in an election year.īut giving a green light to the Americans does have advantages. The U.S. It was this same process that led to a fiasco in the government’s effort to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18 fighter jets with 65 “next generation” F-35 fighters. Selecting the latter approach, which favours American firms, would be very politically risky for the Prime Minister. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

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