Moving in Parallel to the River Class Deliveries
Moving beyond the River Class, what might be done? William Ellery Channing gave us the answer almost two centuries ago when he said that “quantity has a quality all its own”.
Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy indicated the government is now considering ‘up to 15’ River Class destroyers – a change from the definitive number of 15 as the minimum number of surface combatants defined as required by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). As the hull buy might now shrink below 15, it makes sense to pursue another class of less expensive surface combatants to be prepared to add the desired firepower for our Navy. And if geopolitics so dictate, an entire new class of such warships might be required to go beyond the Navy’s minimum essential fleet size.
