Canada First Model for National Defence: Naval Assets

 

L'Anse aux Meadows, Nfld (Photo by V.A. McMillan 17 Jul 2012)

A short while ago, I started this discussion with adjusting the Canadian Forces High Command from a Political Patronage Model to the Canada First Model. (You can find that post here: https://mtnmanblog.blogspot.com/2021/04/future-cf-structure-from-partisan.html). Further, all new Canadian submarines should employ the tethered drone antenna system I suggested previously (https://mtnmanblog.blogspot.com/2021/04/design-idea-tethered-drone-antenna-for.html).

Moving forward, with the Canada First Model for long-term strategic planning for the defence of Canada that is immune to petty political interference and intrigues. The first big leap has to be based on planning that looks at the service life of each piece of equipment necessary for the defence of Canada and then ensuring there will always be a ready supply to replace units that are reaching the end of their service life. This can also be a thread to explore later, of the process to have frontline equipment, second line equipment and third line equipment, before retiring said equipment from service.

The exploration of a Canada First Model for National Defence will begin with a look at our Naval assets. I will skip a review of our current assets, that information is available somewhere on the world wide web. I will focus on developing a list of naval assets that should be produced by Canadian manufacturers in direct support of the Canadian Forces.

If the current economic situation requires the government of the day to spend trillions of dollars of borrowed money, by God, there better be something to show for that debt at the end of this nightmare other than the total enslavement of the Canadian people. One possible solution is to borrow to invest in defending Canada and by extension re-building Canadian industry from coast-to-coast-to-coast!

Even one trillion dollars focused towards rebuilding the Canadian Navy would go an awfully long way to putting Canadians back to work, strengthening the defence of the Canadian coastline, which is the longest in the world – according to online sources; and revitalizing Canadian shipbuilding yards on the Pacific coast, Atlantic Coast and on the shores of the Great lakes. With this in mind, ships should be scaled to make the most of our local builders.

Unlike the political patronage model, where only one or two shipyards are building ships and the rest are starving for work and contracts, the whole point of a Canada First Model, would be to ensure the widest possible spread of sustainable manufacturing across the country. Those in other manufacturing industries fear not,  future blog posts will explore land-based equipment and armaments, as well as air assets. The Canada First Model will be a systems approach to ensure harmony of production towards a common goal - defence of Canada, through Canadian innovation, industry, and employment.

Let’s look at some details…

The proposed naval fleet composition will be based on a Helicopter Carrier and Hospital Ship group. For defence of Canada, aid to civil powers in the event of a major disaster, and/or aiding our NATO or NORAD allies this combination of naval and air assets would make Canada a better ally than current contribution which are strangled by political interference.

Looking at each fleet, starting with the Pacific Fleet:

Battle Group 1: will be Canada’s contribution to blue water patrolling of Canadian territorial waters and be the assets for foreign deployments around the Pacific to aid our allies.

Battle Group 2: will be primarily for the defence of Canada’s Pacific coastline; as well as, training Naval Primary Reserve Units.

Next, is the Atlantic Fleet:

Battle Group 1: will be Canada’s contribution to aiding our NATO partners and blue water patrolling of Canadian territorial waters.

Battle Group 2: will primarily focus on coastline patrol and training Naval Primary Reserve Units.

The Arctic Fleet:

The Arctic Fleet will have two missions. The primary mission is to conduct surveillance of the North-West Passage and sub-surface surveillance of Canadian territorial waters. The secondary mission is to ensure connectivity between Northern Communities in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

Finally, the Great Lakes Fleet:

The Great Lakes Fleet would be broken down to Patrol Groups on Lakes Superior, Huron, Eire, and Ontario. This would increase Canadian presence on these bodies of water to ensure sovereignty and border integrity via water routes to land access points. Further, the addition of a Hospital Ship on Lake Ontario would be a giant step forward for emergency preparedness in the event of a disaster in the Greater Toronto Area.

Parting shot…in closing this post, I would like to briefly touch on adding a few strategic naval bases to support this expanded Canadian Navy.

The Pacific Coast would maintain its current bases at Esquimalt and Nanoose Bay. A new facility would be needed at Port Rupert or somewhere nearby. Further, a series of coastal outposts would be a smart move to allow the Coastal Patrol vessels and River Patrol boats a place to make contact with locals, re-supply/refuel, and gather intel.

The Atlantic Fleet would improve current facilities at Halifax and St. John’s. Like in the Pacific, a series of coastal outposts would be the right approach to networking with the locals and improving communication exchanges. A submarine harbour near Goose Bay would be something to consider.

The Arctic Fleet would need new facilities at Tuktoyaktuk, Iqaluit, near Sanikiluaq, and near Akimiski Island. Further, protecting in the inner North-West Passage by establishing surveillance beds for Stalker Class submarines would be a good idea. Finally, having the Polar 8 Ice Breakers in the region would aid rescue missions for ships or aircraft stranded in or on the ice.

This has become a bit long for a blog post, so I will end it there for today.

So, until next time…write your plans down and share them!

Mountainman.