http://www.defensenews.com/article/2014 ... e-Resupply$1:
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Canada’s Navy, facing several years of being unable to resupply its ships at sea or provide area air defense, will turn to its US and NATO counterparts to fill what officers say are significant gaps in those capabilities.
There is also the possibility the Royal Canadian Navy could acquire two surplus supply ships from the US Navy as a way to support its warships on international and domestic missions.
The Royal Canadian Navy will decommission its only two resupply ships as well as two of its three area air defense ships; effective immediately the ships, now tied up, will not return to sea.
Lack of funding to repair damages on some of the ships, along with the age of the 40-year-old vessels, is behind the decision, Navy officers say.
That leaves the Navy scrambling to find solutions on both how to protect its ships from air threats and also provide fuel and supplies for vessels at sea.
Vice Adm. Mark Norman, the head of the Navy, said the loss of the supply ships is of particular concern and must be dealt with as soon as possible. He noted the retirement of supply ships Protecteur and Preserver creates “a significant gap for Canada that we need to look to mitigate as quickly and as cost-effectively as we can.
“Options include potential enhancements, or additions, to existing agreements with key allies, as well as some made-in-Canada solutions,” Norman said. He declined to provide further details on potential solutions.
But the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Sept. 24 that the Navy is looking to buy two US Navy supply ships that are to be retired, the Bridge and the Rainier.
The US Navy could not provide comment. But a US Navy source said the Canadian Navy has been offered a number of options, from purchasing the two ships outright to leasing the vessels. In addition, there has been an offer from the US Navy to have one of its supply ships, at times, dedicated to provide support to the Canadian Navy, the source said.
Money to fund the Bridge stops at the end of this month. The ship is in a reduced operating status.
Rainier is on active duty but would follow the same process starting next year. There is, however, debate in the US Navy over whether to keep these ships operating.
Canadian Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Al Blondin said Canada is looking at various options for a supply ship. “We’re not in a position to discuss that,” he said, referring to the report about the possible acquisition of Bridge and Rainier.
Norman, in a September 2013 interview, acknowledged the Navy had been looking at private firms to provide supply ships. But he noted that there were various issues that hindered that option, including restrictions on the employability of a commercial vessel in a military support role.
Canada plans to spend CAN $2.6 billion (US $2.5 billion) on two new joint support ships to replace Protecteur and Preserver. But government procurement officials have confirmed those new ships will not be ready until 2019-2020.
The Navy is also retiring its Iroquois-class destroyers — Iroquois and Algonquin — which provide command and control as well as area air defense.
To make up for the loss of that command-and-control capability, the Navy will rely on upgrades being made to its Halifax-class frigates. The operations rooms on four of the frigates are being changed so a task group commander and staff can operate in the same area for command-and-control functions. Multifunctional displays and new radios will be installed in the four vessels.
To deal with the gap in area air defense, Canada will turn to its allies, in particular the US Navy, to provide such capabilities on coalition operations, Canadian Navy officers say.
Norman said the upgraded Halifax-class frigates are up to the job. “In many respects, a modern, highly capable frigate like we’re producing in the Halifax-class through the modernization, is as capable in most respects if not more capable than what is now 20-year-old technology in the legacy Iroquois class.”
The command-and-control and area air defense capability will eventually be assumed by the proposed Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) fleet.
At one point, the Navy optimistically envisioned the first CSC entering service in the 2014-2015 timeframe.
But work on the CSC fleet has been delayed over the years as the Department of National Defence funding for major equipment programs was directed to more pressing needs for the Afghanistan war and the recapitalization of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The first CSC is expected to be delivered in 2023. The last ship will enter service in 2035.
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