Canada's New Frigate Will Be Brimming With Missiles
bootlegga @ Fri Sep 10, 2021 4:23 pm
$1:
The Royal Canadian Navy's future Canadian Surface Combatants, frigates derived from BAE System's Type 26 design for the U.K. Royal Navy, are set to have an impressive and particularly diverse missile armament for warships of their size. This includes Sea Ceptor, RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile, and Standard Missile 2 surface-to-air missiles for close-in, point, and area air and cruise missile defense respectively, as well as Naval Strike Missiles for engaging surface targets. Most notably, an official Canadian infographic says the ships will carry variants of the Tomahawk cruise missile, a weapon that the United States has only ever exported to the United Kingdom.
Naval News was first to report on the new details about the Canadian Surface Combatant's (CSC) armament on Nov. 9, 2020, after noticing the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) infographic. The Canadian government had first announced that the Type 26-based design, pitched by a team led by BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin, was its "preferred" bid for the CSC competition in 2018. The Canadian government intends to buy 15 CSCs to replace its existing 12 Halifax class frigates, the first of which began entering service in the early 1990s.
BAE Systems had already begun the construction of the first of eight Type 26s, which you can read about in more detail in this previous War Zone piece, in 2017, so there had been some idea of what kind of capabilities the Canadian ships might have. The Royal Navy's Type 26s are set to have a 24-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) array, as well as 48 more VLS cells for the Sea Ceptor missile, also known as the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM), along with a five-inch main gun and torpedoes. However, it had previously been unclear what the exact armament for the Canadian derivatives would be. We now know that the RCN ships will also have a five-inch gun and torpedo tubes.
When it comes to missiles, though, the CSCs will have a 32-cell Mk 41 array, eight more than the Type 26s, which can accommodate various weapons. Most interestingly, the infographic mentions the inclusion of the Tomahawk cruise missile in the ship's arsenal for "naval fires support." Last year, Lockheed Martin representatives confirmed to Naval News that the Mk 41 cells on these ships will be "strike-length," meaning that it is the larger version of this VLS that can accommodate Tomahawks and other longer missiles.
Naval News was first to report on the new details about the Canadian Surface Combatant's (CSC) armament on Nov. 9, 2020, after noticing the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) infographic. The Canadian government had first announced that the Type 26-based design, pitched by a team led by BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin, was its "preferred" bid for the CSC competition in 2018. The Canadian government intends to buy 15 CSCs to replace its existing 12 Halifax class frigates, the first of which began entering service in the early 1990s.
BAE Systems had already begun the construction of the first of eight Type 26s, which you can read about in more detail in this previous War Zone piece, in 2017, so there had been some idea of what kind of capabilities the Canadian ships might have. The Royal Navy's Type 26s are set to have a 24-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) array, as well as 48 more VLS cells for the Sea Ceptor missile, also known as the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM), along with a five-inch main gun and torpedoes. However, it had previously been unclear what the exact armament for the Canadian derivatives would be. We now know that the RCN ships will also have a five-inch gun and torpedo tubes.
When it comes to missiles, though, the CSCs will have a 32-cell Mk 41 array, eight more than the Type 26s, which can accommodate various weapons. Most interestingly, the infographic mentions the inclusion of the Tomahawk cruise missile in the ship's arsenal for "naval fires support." Last year, Lockheed Martin representatives confirmed to Naval News that the Mk 41 cells on these ships will be "strike-length," meaning that it is the larger version of this VLS that can accommodate Tomahawks and other longer missiles.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/3 ... h-missiles
CDN_PATRIOT @ Fri Sep 10, 2021 5:29 pm
MOAR MISSILES! MOAR GUNS! PATRIOT LIKE!!! 
-J.
Thanos @ Fri Sep 10, 2021 5:31 pm
Given the inevitable spending cuts after the inevitable spending boondoggle on these babies the missiles will probably be down-graded to Nerf-brand by the time the ships get to sea. 
raydan @ Fri Sep 10, 2021 5:51 pm
Who needs missiles anyway?
Thanos @ Fri Sep 10, 2021 6:06 pm
Pretty sure that we have enough quad-40mm Bofors guns and Oerlikon 20mm cannons in our museums that can be ret-conned for active service and outfit at least one ship with an air defense that's effective to upwards of one or two kilometers. 