Ultra Maritime Nets Canadian Destroyer Torpedo-Defence Deal

Defence firm Ultra Maritime has struck a deal with Lockheed Martin to supply torpedo defence suites for Canada’s three new River-class destroyers being built by BAE Systems.

As per a recent Ultra Maritime press statement, the firm has won an C$89 million contract from Lockheed Martin Canada, Inc. to supply three Surface Ship Torpedo Defence (SSTD) shipsets.

The company noted: “SSTD provides a proven world-class full ‘sense to effect’ torpedo defence capability… The combination of a single in-line tow and automatic threat alerting provides unparalleled performance within a small ship footprint, maintaining a high probability of detection coupled with low false alarm rate whilst minimizing overall operator workload.”

It added the SSTD solution was a tested system already in service with navies across the globe. It added: “Ultra Maritime continues to invest to improve this capability and are proud to partner with Lockheed Martin Canada and the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) to provide SSTD to the Royal Canadian Navy River-class.”

John Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager of Ultra Maritime Canada, commented: “Having previously secured a three-shipset production order to supply Hull Mounted Sonars (HMS) for the RCD program, as well as supplying 12 UWSU towed arrays into the Halifax-class, Ultra Maritime is pleased to play a pivotal role in delivering state-of-the-art Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities to the Royal Canadian Navy. ”

The ships — the future HMCS Fraser, HMCS Saint-Laurent, and HMCS Mackenzie — are the first of a wider strategy for the 2030s and beyond to build up to 15 new warships at an estimated cost in the region of C$80 billion.

The first three ships, formerly referred to as the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) project, are named after Canada’s key waterways feeding into the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans.

The new multi-role destroyers are intended to serve as a replacement for both the RCN’s four retired Iroquois-class destroyers and its 12 Halifax-class frigates, equally capable of carrying out missions on the open ocean and in complex coastal environments.

Their design is based on BAE Systems’ Type 26 frigates being built for the Royal Navy in the U.K. and the related Australian Hunter-class frigates.

As per a recent Canadian Government press statement, the ships “will provide decisive combat power for operations at sea, and in support of joint-force operations ashore, and will support missions conducted as part of counter-piracy, counter-terrorism, intelligence and surveillance, interdiction and embargo, humanitarian assistance, research and rescue, and enforcement of law or sovereignty.”

• You can read more about the SSTD contract on the Ultra Maritime website and further details about the RCD project on the Canadian Government website