How Canada is preparing the future River-class destroyers to endure uncrewed threats
Rendering of a River-class vessel. (Photo: Irving Shipbuilding Inc)
Designed in 2019, Canada’s new River-class destroyers are planned to be handed over by the 2050s. The long procurement timeline has cast doubt on whether the platforms will be obsolete for tomorrow’s warfare.
The long-term schedule of the Canadian River-class destroyer (RCD) programme and the growing proliferation of aerial, surface and underwater uncrewed systems in maritime theatres have raised questions about whether the future RCDs will be capable of facing autonomous platform attacks.
With an acquisition goal of 15 ships, this procurement effort started in 2016 and a design was selected in 2019. To date, three vessels are under contract. The first one, HMCS Fraser, is being built by Irving Shipbuilding Inc (ISI) and is scheduled for delivery from 2032.
An official spokesperson for the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) told
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![UK’s Type 31 frigate balances cost pressure with long-term export ambition]()
UK’s Type 31 frigate balances cost pressure with long-term export ambition
The UK shipbuilder’s full-year results to the end of March revealed the impact of the £140 million charge linked to design changes and rework on the Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigate programme.
-
![US Navy expands non-standard acquisitions to rapidly field emerging technologies]()
US Navy expands non-standard acquisitions to rapidly field emerging technologies
The US Navy is increasing the use of OTA obligations to accelerate the procurement of seabed-subsea, littoral, expeditionary and uncrewed solutions.
-
![Can Portugal solve NATO’s uncrewed systems development challenge?]()
Can Portugal solve NATO’s uncrewed systems development challenge?
NATO has spent more than a decade building one of the world’s most sophisticated maritime uncrewed experimentation ecosystems, but still lacks a way to translate this testing into alliance-wide operational capability. Portugal now believes it has the answer.
