By David Pugliese
Canada’s Victoria-class submarines are seen as key elements to the Liberal government’s defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged.
With that in mind, one of the Royal Canadian Navy’s top priorities is a new sustainment plan for the four submarines.
Dubbed the Victoria-class In-Service Support Contract 2 or VISSC2 the project will address continued upkeep of the submarines into the mid-2030s. “VISSC2 is going to be a critical enabler” for the government defence policy, Capt.(N) Keith Coffen, Director Maritime Equipment Program Management – Submarines, told Esprit de Corps.
“Sustainment is a key industrial capability (and we) aim to grow and develop that capability in Canada,” he added.
Submarines are among the world’s most technically complex machines and they operate in an unforgiving environment, the RCN points out. The Victoria-class submarines operate in open-ocean and deep-sea environments where they experience pressure-induced stresses from changes in depth, extreme weather conditions, and the corrosive effects of seawater.
A strict in-service maintenance program is required to ensure the safety of the crew and mission success. It also helps develop and sustain a highly-skilled Canadian marine workforce with expertise in a specific domain, according to the Department of National Defence.
Upkeep of the Victoria-class boats is provided via a combination of Royal Canadian Navy and contracted maintenance resources. Coffen noted that DND’s fleet maintenance facilities in both Halifax, NS and Esquimalt, BC are involved in submarine sustainment.
But the main player is private industry.
A contract for maintenance support of the Victoria-class was originally awarded to Babcock Canada Inc. (formerly the Canadian Submarine Management Group Inc.) in 2008. This contract is currently approved for a total value of approximately $2.9 billion and a maximum duration of 15 years if all options are exercised.
“We’re partnered up with Babcock Canada to deliver deep maintenance for the class,” Coffen explained. “As well (the contract) delivers core support tasks to manage technical data, integrate new systems, to understand the state of each individual submarine at any given time and to understand the state of the supply chain.”
The Victoria-class In-Service Support Contract or VISSC is the largest naval in-service support contract in Canada and includes project management, refits and maintenance, capability upgrades, logistics, configuration/safety records and engineering support. The main contract covers core work and tasking with deep maintenance periods – termed Extended Docking Work Periods (EDWPs), included as required by the submarine operating schedules.
The work is done in Victoria (Esquimalt), BC.
In May 2018 the Department of National Defence extended the existing submarine support contract with Babcock. That extension is out to June 2021 and will see a team of more than 400 Babcock engineers, project managers and specialist support staff continue to support all four submarines in refit and in-service, the firm noted.
Babcock Canada is recognized as a leading naval in -service support specialist with the ability to leverage international best practices from a wide range of similar navies and vessels around the world.
Since its inception in 2008 Babcock Canada has continued to grow and has now established facilities in Victoria, Halifax, and Ottawa, the company added.
Prior to the end of this current Victoria-class In-Service Support Contract, the Canadian government has been holding meetings with industry on the development of a request for proposal for the follow-on contract – VISSC2 - to ensure a smooth transition between maintenance contracts.
VISSC2 will address continued upkeep of the submarines into the mid-2030s, while a new capital initiative – the Victoria Class Modernization – will ensure that the Victoria-class submarines remain operationally relevant to the end of their intended service lives, according to the RCN.
The decision to modernize and operate the four submarines until the mid-2030s was contained in the Liberal government’s 2017 defence policy.
Invitations to Qualify for the future VISSC2 contract were issued by the Canadian government in August 2019 and December 2019. Pre-qualified bidders, including Babcock, will be invited to participate in the development of the future contract.
That involves a study by the RCN to examine how to improve sustainment of the Victoria-class submarines. Industry will contribute their ideas and those will be written into a request for proposals for VISSC2, said Coffen.
“It will take a while to get through the study,” he explained. “We’ve initiated a process called the Sustainment Business Case Analysis which looks at all of our new sustainment activities.”
Performance, flexibility, value for money and economic benefits are being examined. “That process is underway now,” Coffen said.
Areas where sustainment for the Victoria-class can be further improved will be examined and those will be written into the request for proposals. The RCN is interested in improving its schedule for deep maintenance activities and coming up with a plan where it can stick to that schedule.
The present intention is to award VISSC2 through a competitive process and to ensure a smooth transition between maintenance contracts.
Coffen declined to get into milestones for the process, noting that the original VISSC can be extended to 2023 if necessary.
But previously Department of National Defence officials stated that it was hoped the request for proposals would be issued by the end of the year and a contract awarded before mid-2022. Industry representatives have been told that bid evaluations would take place between July 2021 and September 2021 and the contract awarded in May 2022.
But that was before the COVID-19 pandemic so it is difficult to say whether the federal government and the DND will stick to that schedule.
The current annual recurring maintenance cost for the four Victoria-class submarines, including expenditures under the original VISSC, is in the range of $300 million to $350 million per year. The final value for the VISSC2 contract will depend on the number of years the contract is active and the scope of work, added DND spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande.
The company winning the VISSC2 will be required to have an office in Ottawa and facilities on the east and west coast. All intensive third-line maintenance periods will take place at the Esquimalt Graving Dockyard in Victoria, BC.
The evaluation criteria for the winning bid will focus on demonstrated submarine sustainment and maintenance experience, access to an available and skilled workforce, ability to meet the criteria to become a tenant of the government owned submarine repair facilities at Esquimalt Graving Dock and capability to support industrial benefits and value proposition initiatives.
The industrial and technological benefits and value proposition set up requires companies awarded defence procurement contracts to undertake business activity in Canada equal to the value of the contracts. Key industrial capabilities including critical industrial services as defined by the Canadian government. Those include marine ship-borne mission systems, sonar and acoustic systems, munitions, electro-optical support, training and simulation, armour, shipbuilding, design and engineering services and aerospace systems.
Babcock has pointed out that since the inception of the original VISSC, the company has contributed over $1.8 billion to the Canadian economy and has developed a domestic supply chain network that is now an integral part of Canada’s strategic submarine sustainment capability. The vast majority of Babcock’s Canadian submarine expertise is domestically based, the firm added. It now has over 330 suppliers from coast to coast, annually sustaining over 2,000 Canadian jobs.
The sustainment plan for VISSC2 calls for two submarines at high readiness, one available as required and one in Extended Docking Work Period or EDWP. First and second line maintenance will be done primarily in-house. Third line maintenance will rest with industry.
The Royal Canadian Navy wants a 9 plus 3 Victoria-class operating cycle. The submarines would be involved in operations for a nine-year period, followed by a EDWP of three years.
