As we draw to the closure of the deadline for the submission of the request for proposals for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program, the Navantia team has made an announcement of the submission of its proposal.
The team, which is led by Navantia is comprised of Saab Australia which will deliver the Combat Systems Integrator (CSI) and CEA Technologies to provide other key elements of the proposed solution.
“With a strong heritage in designing and building frigates and destroyers and proven technology transfer in global programs, the Navantia team offers a compliant solution with the best capability for the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian shipbuilding industry,” said Navantia Chairman Esteban García Vilasánchez.
The team’s solution is based on “the proven F-105 frigate design” for the Spanish Navy. This design coupled with capabilities of key Canadian companies will provide a ship that is ideally suited to Canada’s requirement, according to the press release.
Navantia has a history of providing modifications of this design for many navies including the Norwegian Navy and, most recently, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The proposal incorporates Saab’s 9LV Combat Management Systems (CMS), which is on over 240 platforms in 16 navies worldwide, including the Halifax class frigates. This platform is a proven capability which was recently confirmed by the move by the Australian government which mandated that Saab’s 9LVCMS be used on all major surface combatants of the RAN.
Other key suppliers engaged by Saab to support the CSC program include Lockheed Martin (Moorestown, New Jersey), General Dynamic Mission Systems – Canada (GDMS-C), DRS Technologies Limited Canada (DRS TCL), OSI Maritime Service and Rheinmetall Canada.
The team’s solution will utilise the capabilities of over 50 Canadian companies and will create over 1,000 jobs in Canada, including a full technology transfer of the design and CMS to Canada to be integrated and maintained by Canadian companies.
The team is proposing that if the Navantia solution is selected, Canada will “not burdened with unnecessary cost and risk concerns as CSC transitions from design, to production and ultimately, to a proven operational capability.”
Today is the deadline for submission of RFPs for the CSC program, in which the Royal Canadian Navy will acquire up to 15 frigates to replace the Iroquois Class destroyers and Halifax Class frigates. Construction of the frigates will begin in the early 2020s.