A Five Eyes ship on the horizon?

With final proposals submitted for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) project, the Lockheed Martin-led Combat Ship Team is bullish about the prospects of another Type 26 win.
Specifically the company has highlighted that with three Commonwealth and Five Eye member nations potentially operating the same vessel could bring great benefits to Canada.
The Type 26 has already begun its build for the UK’s Royal Navy and was recently selected as the vessel of choice for the Australian Navy's Sea 5000 project.
Gary Fudge, VP and general manager, Lockheed Martin Canada Rotary and Mission Systems, outlined to Shephard the positive impact of Canada selected the type alongside the UK and Australia.
These include economies of scale possible through overlapping build schedules; a live engineering team able to support modifications; the opportunity to participate in the Type 26 test and trials programme and use this experience and performance data to inform their programmes; and common equipment and technologies.

‘On the military side there are benefits of allies operating compatible platforms, sharing military doctrine and strengthening the Five Eyes intelligence community…providing access to the most trusted and sensitive data and technology,’ Fudge added.
The Five Eyes community comprises of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US.
Fudge also noted that there are advantages to having a clean sheet design compared with an older, in service design.
‘With the rise in submarine capability in non-allied nations in the past 15 years, the RCN requires a solution that will be effective in anti-submarine warfare [ASW]. The T26 is designed with noise reduction features built in ensuring the ship is acoustically quiet for ASW missions.
'If a ship is not designed to be acoustically quiet, the design modifications required to reduce noise are usually very intrusive and high risk – the T26 design completely eliminates that risk,’ he said.
He added that the selection of the Type 26 for Sea 5000 ‘recognises’ the ship as having these features.
‘Unlike other 10- to 15-year-old designs, [The type 26] minimises obsolescence risk as a bow-to-stern digitally designed warship,’ he said.
However, some may argue that a proven design also has its benefits.
Spanish company Navantia has submitted a proposal based on the proven F-105 frigate design for the Spanish Navy.
In a statement released in 2017 the company noted that the F-105 'is far beyond the conceptual stage' of a slowly evolving design process.
‘Selection of the Navantia solution will ensure Canada is not  burdened with unnecessary cost and risk concerns as CSC transitions from design, to production and ultimately, to a proven operational capability,' the company stated.
Meanwhile, Alion Science and Technology is also submitting a proven design based on the De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate, a NATO vessel, built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding. The frigate has been operational for more than ten years.
‘Our bid focused on reducing development and design activities, which delivers a lower overall cost,’ said Bruce Samuelsen, COO for Alion in a Devember 2017 press release. ‘This is also significant from the standpoint of accelerating production.’
The Canadian Surface Combatant is the largest, most complex procurement undertaken by the Canadian government, and the ships being built will form the backbone of the Royal Canadian Navy.
Targeted completion for the procurement process is scheduled for 2018 and the start of ship construction is scheduled for the early 2020s. 

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