Canada Awards Contract to Start Construction of River-Class Destroyers
As the Canadian government marks the 15th anniversary of its National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) it is moving ahead with critical orders including the first official construction contract for the new River-class destroyers. The ships which will make up the backbone of Canada’s naval combat capabilities are reported to be the largest and most complex shipbuilding effort undertaken in Canada since the Second World War.
Canada’s Minister of Defense joined with his colleagues in the government to announce the implementation contract to start construction on the first three of the new vessels. The work was awarded to Irving Shipbuilding which is based in Halifax and which has been closely involved in the project. Irving began construction of the production test module of the River-class in June 2024 and now expects full-rate production to start next month, April 2025.
The River-class Destroyer is based on BAE Systems’ Type 26 warship design being built by the United Kingdom and a variant of which is being built for Australia as the Hunter Class Frigate. Canada’s Minister of Defense reports its new vessels will have enhanced underwater sensors, state-of-the-art radar, and modern weapons. The vessels are designed to provide combat power at sea support joint-force operations ashore and undertake a broad range of missions ranging from counter-piracy and counter-terrorism to intelligence and surveillance, interdiction and embargo, humanitarian assistance, research and rescue, and enforcement of law or sovereignty.
The new vessels are designed to replace the 12 Halifax-class frigates that are currently operating in the Royal Canadian Navy. Those vessels have been in service for approximately 30 years with the first of the class commissioned in 1992. They will also take over the role of the Iroquois-class destroyers which were in service between 1972 and 2017. Canada built four of the destroyers with two decommissioned in 2015 and the last one of the class in 2017.
“Today’s announcement is a major step forward in delivering the first three River-class Destroyers – these impressive ships will offer an incredible capacity to the Royal Canadian Navy and Canada, ensuring that we can defend our waters against any adversary and deliver frontline combat power anywhere in the world,” said Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, Commander, Royal Canadian Navy.
The first contract has a value of C$8 billion (US$5.6 billion) and is intended to fund the first six years of construction. It supports the construction of the first three ships of the class as well as the training, spares, and maintenance products required for the ship once they are commissioned. The first three ships are slatted to be named Fraser, Saint-Laurent, and Mackenzie, after Canada's vital waterways.
The Government of Canada reports following extensive analysis it has determined that the cost to build and deliver the first three ships at C$22.2 billion (US$15.4 billion). This estimate includes the costs that will be paid to Irving Shipbuilding through the implementation contract, as well as costs associated with the delivery of equipment, systems, and ammunition that Canada will be acquiring to bring the first three ships into service.
At the end of last week and over the weekend, the government also confirmed the orders under the NSS for two heavy polar icebreakers. They represent an equally challenging project to the new destroyers. The orders for the icebreakers were split between Davie and Seaspan with the vessels projected for delivery in 2029 and 2030.