RCN
Work continues on River-class project as new AEGIS facility established
By Trident Staff
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) recently celebrated an early milestone as part of work on the future River-class Destroyers (RCD).
November 21 marked the official unveiling of the RCN’s AEGIS Combat System Integration Centre, located inside the United States Navy’s Combat Systems Engineering Development Site in Moorestown, New Jersey. Rear-Admiral Daniel Charlebois, Director General of Future Ship Capability, joined Canadian and American Navy colleagues, as well as industry representatives, to open up the new facility.
The AEGIS Combat System will be responsible for integrated air and missile defence for the new class of ships, providing the ability to provide blanket air defence for an entire task group. AEGIS is currently in use at sea by the navies of allies including the United States, Japan, Spain, Korea, Norway, and Australia.
The opening of the Centre was described as an important chapter on the way to the eventual delivery of the RCDs to Canada. Once the AEGIS software is developed for RCN use, it will be delivered to the Land Based Testing Facility to be constructed outside of Halifax in Eastern Passage.
Formerly known as the Canadian Surface Combatant project, the RCD project is set to build 15 River-class ships for Canada to replace both the retired Iroquois-class destroyers and the Halifax-class Frigates that are currently in service.
The ships will be built by Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, also serving as the Prime Contractor, while both Irving and Lockheed Martin Canada have led the design portion of the project. Construction on the RCD fleet is expected to begin in 2025.
