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| Great White North |
| Canada: Ottawa floating idea of new subs, sources say |
| 2007-10-10 |
| OTTAWA–The defence minister's office recently requested a briefing on how long it would take to introduce new submarines – a move that could set the stage for the replacement of the troubled Victoria-class boats, defence sources have told The Canadian Press. At the same time, a key refit contract involving the compressed-air system aboard HMCS Victoria has been put on hold, an upgrade which left incomplete would mean the warship would not be able to fire torpedoes. Both actions raise questions about the future of the four glitch-plagued submarines that were purchased from Britain in 1998 under the former Liberal government and have yet to reach full operational status. A good thing those 14-foot Jon-class surface vessels weren't retired. In the briefing, which was reportedly delivered by senior officials last week to Peter MacKay's new deputy minister, the government was told it would take six years to bring new submarines completely up to snuff, starting from the moment of contract signing. Six years? We're talking 'Canadian values' and defense spending, like, OK? A second defence source said a more conservative estimate of the timeline would be up to eight years. That's more like it. A spokesperson for MacKay declined to give details of the briefing. "The minister has no comment on the substance of briefings, which are often sensitive in nature," said Jay Paxton, the minister's press secretary. "The minister does view these subs as an important strategic asset for Canada." The conjecture comes at a time when the Harper government is casting around for ways to bolster the country's sovereignty over the Arctic. The issue of the Far North is expected to figure prominently in next week's throne speech. Denmark sez: "All your igloos belong to us" |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #6 Rantburg should be against this since "bolstering Canadian sovereignty over the arctic" also means harassing American subs traversing the northwest passage without prior notification. Bad, bad Canadians. |
| Posted by: buy one war, get one free 2007-10-10 22:48 |
| #5 China desires a minima of 1/2 of CONUS-NORAM for future "living space" - presuming that the Chicoms make good on their ambitions/agendas as per same, Chinese- = Chicom military history strongly suggests will be enforced via large or massive conventional armies. Ala the KOREAS, SINO-INDIAN, SINO-RUSSIAN [border clashes]and SINO-VIETNAM conflicts, CANADA will be one giant DMZ = Battlefield. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-10-10 19:42 |
| #4 |
| Posted by: DMFD 2007-10-10 19:23 |
| #3 So, what do you think... would the idea of new canuck subs sink or float? |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-10-10 17:58 |
| #2 It's time for the gloves to come off. Does this mean we own the Moon? "Right of Return"(tm) and all that stuff. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-10-10 17:52 |
| #1 If they are going to get new subs, they might as well spend the money and buy 4 to 5 of the new German AIP submarines. Those would give the Canadians a big boost in their submarine operations, and would provide some really good anti-submarine warfare training to the US fleet during joint operations. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2007-10-10 17:46 |