Single Class Surface Combatant Project

The Single Class Surface Combatant Project is the name given by naval observers for the Royal Canadian Navy procurement project that will replace the Iroquois-class destroyer and Halifax-class frigate warships in the period beginning 2016–2017 as part of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.

The replacement vessels will be somewhat larger than the existing Halifax class, and presumably provide a wide-area air defence capability, anti-submarine warfare capability, as well as anti-shipping capability.

History
The Halifax class frigates, often called the "City" class, are named after Canadian cities. There was a suggestion in the late 1990s and early 2000s that the replacement for the Iroquois-class destroyers would be named after Canadian provinces and would be significantly larger and more capable than a frigate (the "Province" class), although this was never confirmed. As the 2000s drew to a close, it became more uncertain as to whether this class would ever be constructed.

By the late 2000s, it became known that the Canadian Forces was seeking to build a single new class of frigates or destroyers to replace both the Iroquois-class destroyers and Halifax-class frigates under what the Royal Canadian Navy has called the Single Class Surface Combatant Project (SCSCP).

Originally the flight II Halifax-class ships, starting with HMCS Montreal (FFH 336), were to have been stretched about 32 ft. It was speculated that the added space between the forward-mounted gun and bridgework were to have housed a small Mk.41 VLS package with SM-3 missiles during the Frigate Life Extension Project (FELEX) mid-life upgrade program. Budget cuts during delivery meant that the batch 2 ships were instead delivered identical to the earlier examples, which means there is no room for any significant upgrade during FELEX.

The navy had investigated adopting the Active Phased Array Radar, leading observers to suggest that APAR and the associated SMART-L would equip the Single Class Surface Combatant or upgraded Halifax-class ships during the FELEX project. Upgrades to the existing Halifax-class with such a system would likely be difficult since the APAR requires its own mast and might make the Halifax-class design top-heavy.

The Department of National Defence (DND) has not identified a procurement timeframe for the replacement of the Iroquois class; however, it has been reported that design work is underway and a project office and personnel have been assigned. The Iroquois class was originally scheduled for retirement around 2010 after 40 years in service; however, the remaining three vessels will have their service years extended until the replacement vessels are delivered. On 26 October 2012 a letter of interest was published by Public Works and Government Services Canada to announce a session in which interested firms could find out the needs of DND for the new class and the project in general. The closing date was 5 November 2012.