Canadian submarine, pennant number SSK 877, will re-enter the water today.
HMCS Windsor will be lowered into Halifax harbour today after spending five years in dry dock for an extensive refit that cost $45 million in 2010 alone.Labour costs included.
Former naval officer Ken Hansen said the clock is running to get HMCS Windsor and the other troubled submarines into the water.Ken, Ken, Ken!! No. It's a 20-year old boat, fer chrissakes, and it just spent five years being reassembled and having "power by Lucas" purged.
"The navy needs to prove that it can actually administer and successfully manage this program," he told CBC News on Tuesday.
"If the problems of the past continue to manifest themselves, the government will lose patience and Canada, I believe, will be out of the submarine game forever."
What makes you think we're still in the game now?
Dave — Nobody said it was easy, but it CAN be done, honest.
ReplyDeleteIt took Ford almost 4 years, but they did get the Prince of Darkness out of Jaguar and replaced with Autolite — and for the FIRST time in history, from their beginning as Standard Swallow, Jaguars would actually start in the cold and wet.
Dave, what's the remaining lifespan of these boats? 15 years, 20 maybe? Less, possibly? It seems to me they're already too long in the tooth to warrant a major upgrade such as AIP systems. Maybe we could use them to train a core of submariners for new boats. Will these become the HMCS Grilse X4?
ReplyDelete"Will these become the HMCS Grilse X4?" Um, how about razor blades or brake disks? Toyotas? Traffic signs?
ReplyDeleteI don't know subs, but the Oberon-class boats were around for a long time. I'd at least say some submarine capability is better than none and if these can be made to work, then we have the some. Give the recent history of procurement of new stuff, I'm not putting into for shiny new boats now will have them sailing in reasonable time.
ReplyDeleteI'd give them 20 years max, from now, if they don't lose one.
ReplyDeleteThe crews are painfully lacking in operational skill and there is no place to actually do a proper skills transfer.
We are the only navy with Upholder-class.