Recapitalizing the Fleet

摘要

The Canadian government has tabled several strategy and policy papers on sovereignty and defense in the last decade, notably Canada's Northern Strategy and Canada First Defense Strategy (CFDS). A part of CFDS was the concept that "Starting from the Government's clearly defined roles and level of ambition for the Canadian Forces, the Strategy identifies the military capabilities required to meet these objectives, which in turn determine where investments are most needed." Out of the CFDS came the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) for the recapitalization of Canada's federal fleets, particularly the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). The NSPS is one of the largest procurement programs ever undertaken by the Canadian government and affects the RCN, the CCG, and the marine industry of Canada as a whole. Our purpose here is to provide perspective on historic fleet development and to explore the benefits and challenges of the NSPS and associated major acquisition programs.