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The Role of Canada's Major Warships

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Fact File: The Role of Canada's Major Warships

Every developed nation with a coastline maintains seagoing armed forces to protect their security and enforce their sovereignty in waters over which they have jurisdiction. Nations who also have vital international interests – who are dependent upon international trade, who are engaged in international affairs, and who are committed to global security – need more than a Coast Guard, they need a Navy. It would be prohibitively expensive for a nation like Canada to maintain two different armed forces: one for its national waters and another for international operations. Therefore, a modest, but modern and versatile navy is the most cost effective way for Canada to safeguard both its national and international maritime interests. But what should this navy look like?

Maritime nations with vital international interests need more than a Coast Guard – they need a Navy.

In order to fulfill both the national and international roles that have been assigned to it, our navy must possess a broad range of capabilities that are needed to perform the wide-range of tasks that our warships will be asked to undertake. Our warships must also have the ability to defend themselves from opposing military or non-military forces while performing these roles.

Fundamentally, the ships of our navy need to possess certain basic capabilities whether they are conducting security operations within home waters, or they are deploying overseas on international missions. These include the ability t

move quickly from one area to another;
be effective in all weather and sea conditions;
possess sufficient endurance – to reach the areas where they are needed and to remain in these areas long enough to complete the tasks that they will be called upon to perform;
use sensors – such as radars, sonars, electronic surveillance systems, and ship-borne helicopters – to determine who else is in the area and what these other aircraft, ships, or submarines are doing;
defend against a range of diverse threats – such as attacks from other ships, aircraft, missiles, and submarines;
apply appropriate levels of force – against other ships, aircraft, submarines, or land targets should it be necessary to accomplish the tasks that have been assigned it;
communicate – through radio and satellite systems – with other ships, aircraft, submarines and ashore;
be interoperable – to work with and share information with the warships of other allied navies when participating in multinational operations; and
carry a modern, maritime helicopter – to dramatically increase a warship’s effectiveness
provide the means to exercise command – to enable a nation’s seagoing commanders to assume command of a group of warships that have been brought together to accomplish a common mission.

Frigates and destroyers are the workhorses of the world’s navies

Other middle power nations have found that the general-purpose frigate or destroyer is the most effective way of providing these fundamental capabilities in a single ship. General-purpose frigates and destroyers range in size between 3500 and 6000 tonnes. They are equipped to deal with threatening forces above, below, and on the surface of the oceans and are capable of accomplishing an impressive array of tasks. In fact, the flexibility, robustness, and endurance of frigates and destroyers have made these types of warships the workhorses of the world’s navies, and an essential element of an internationally relevant Navy. Why is this?

Frigates and destroyers are the price of admission if Canada wants to play a meaningful role in naval operations with our allies

Frigates and destroyers are the minimum size of warship that are physically capable of accommodating the fuel, provisions, weapons systems, sensors, communications equipment, and personnel that are needed to provide these fundamental capabilities in a single ship that is capable of carrying out a broad range of tasks;
Frigates and destroyers are the minimum size of warship needed to play a meaningful role in diplomacy. Smaller, less capable warships do not carry the same symbolic value;
Smaller warships do not have the sea-keeping qualities needed to operate in the very rough seas that are often encountered offshore – particularly within Canada’s large offshore areas which are known for their high seas and rough weather;
The flexibility of frigates and destroyers allows them to rapidly change role or missions – even after they have been deployed abroad;
The general-purpose design of frigates and destroyers offers governments a very wide range of options when choosing how to respond to an international crisis;
The frigate or destroyer is considered to be the basic building block of a naval force when warships are assembled into groups during alliance or international coalitions. They are the “price of admission” in making a meaningful and visible contribution to multi-national operations; and
Frigates and destroyers have the ability to operate autonomously for extended periods, or they can be integrated into a highly effective group of ships known as a ‘Task Group’, which can be used to accomplish more complex or difficult missions.

The qualities that make frigates and destroyers so essential for international operations also make these types of warships very effective in our own waters. The size, endurance and flexibility of frigates and destroyers enables the Navy to deal with the broad range of missions that it undertakes in Canada’s own ocean expanse, such as:

Remaining on patrol for prolonged periods in areas reputed to have amongst the world’s worst weather and roughest seas;
Using their sensors to detect and monitor the activities of vessels suspected of illegal activity, such as migrant smuggling, narcotics trafficking, fisheries violations;
Employing their helicopters to conduct surveillance of Canadian waters, and to respond to Search and Rescue efforts;
Capitalizing upon their speed and endurance to intercept and follow suspicious vessels or to respond to Search and Rescue efforts;
Making use of their sophisticated command and communications equipment to coordinate the activities of other ships;
Using their sensors to monitor activities underneath the surface of the ocean in areas under Canadian jurisdiction;
Threatening the use of its weapons systems to force vessels to comply with Canadian law;
Employing its boarding teams to seize vessels that fail to comply with Canadian law.

Most importantly, only major warships such as frigates and destroyers are capable of dealing with a military or other major challenge to national security from our seaward approaches.

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