The delivery timeline has been a key issue in the competition between TKMS and South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean. Hanwha has said it could deliver four KSS-III submarines to Canada by 2035, the year the Canadian navy plans to retire its Victoria-class submarines.
“They say we are able to do so. That’s deliverable of the proposal, of the offer,” Pistorius said in an interview on the margins of the CANSEC defence and security exhibition in Ottawa.
“They say they can do that, and I trust them because I have only good experiences with them. They only promise what they can really achieve,” Pistorius said.
Canada is seeking to replace its ageing submarine fleet, with only one of its four existing Victoria-class boats currently operational. The navy has identified an urgent need for replacement submarines as the retirement date approaches.
Pistorius said Germany and Norway, which is also a partner in the Type 212CD programme, have offered to give up one submarine each from their existing orders to help meet Canada’s timeline. TKMS would then prioritise the next two boats for Canada.
Germany and Norway would recover those submarines later in the production schedule. Pistorius said the offer reflected allied solidarity and the strategic importance of strengthening Canadian capabilities.
“We are absolutely convinced that it is in our joint interest in NATO and between Europe and Canada to strengthen all the capabilities of our Canadian allies,” Pistorius said.
“It is about reliability among partners and allies. It’s about a joint and mutual perspective on the threats we all have to face together. And this is about focusing on the areas in which the threat is the most relevant and present. And this, of course, for example, the High North, the Arctic, the North Atlantic,” he said.
Norway’s deputy defence minister Marte Gerhardsen said Norway was considering the issue beyond its own naval requirements. She said bringing Canada into the programme would strengthen the wider submarine force.
“Having Canadians on board, even if we had to wait with one submarine, we still believe that that would make the whole fleet stronger,” Gerhardsen told CBC News.
“We are thinking of the submarine fleet not as an Norwegian fleet and a German fleet and a Canadian fleet, we were thinking of a common fleet,” she said.
The German proposal also includes a range of proposed investments in Canada. CBC News reported that Berlin is looking at defence-related projects linked to the submarine programme as well as investments outside the defence sector.
The proposed investments include a partnership with Alberta on a carbon capture facility using TKMS technology. Germany is also prepared to invest in turning the Port of Churchill in Manitoba into a major export hub, particularly for liquefied natural gas.
On the defence side, TKMS plans to build submarine maintenance facilities on both Canadian coasts. Other proposals include a factory to produce heavy torpedoes and work on hypersonic missiles.
The package could amount to billions of dollars in investment and potentially tens of thousands of jobs over several decades. CBC News said a distinguishing feature of the German proposal is that many projects are front-loaded and could be operational within two years.
South Korea has made similar economic commitments if Hanwha Ocean wins the submarine contract. Hanwha has also promoted its bid through a high-profile campaign, including a recent visit by a new KSS-III submarine to Victoria.
Pistorius rejected the suggestion that Germany and Norway were trying to catch up in public perception in Canada. He said the issue was the strategic importance of the potential agreement.
“It is not about how much we do in public promotion,” Pistorius said. “It’s not about being there or being here. It’s about making clear we are talking about and discussing a very, very important deal between Canada and TKMS in Germany….”
“It’s so crucial, and it’s a strategic relevance for NATO as a whole,” he said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Stephen Fuhr, Canada’s secretary of state for defence procurement, have said both the German and South Korean submarines meet the navy’s requirements. A decision on which bid Canada will pursue is expected within a month.
Carney said the decision goes beyond military requirements. He said “the economic implication, the broader economic benefits” would be one factor, and that Canada was also seeking “a partnership that extends more broadly and strategically.”
Defence analyst Dave Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said the choice would be difficult because both bids offer significant benefits. He said the two contenders had taken different approaches in how public and communicative they had been about their proposals.
“I think we’ve sort of seen some evidence the [Canadian] government has been really fairly clever and tried to create a highly competitive, really good offer for Canada,” Perry said.
Source: CBC News.
