HMCS Windsor will be without torpedoes until 2006, a high-ranking Canadian naval
officer says.
"That's probably right," Capt. Dean McFadden, who commands Atlantic operations,
told reporters on board the submarine as it conducted exercises
off the coast of Nova Scotia.
The Halifax-based submarine, which was originally supposed to be ready for
operations in July 2001, began a year of testing last spring.
While the sub is not yet armed with torpedoes, which will be its only external
weapons, it has embarked on several official missions.
"This submarine has been engaged in domestic operational patrols, not exercises,
since the spring," Capt. McFadden said.
Earlier this year, HMCS Windsor operated on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland,
conducting surveillance and gathering information for the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans while remaining undetected, Capt. McFadden said.
"That's commonly how we're tasked," he said. "We also do operations in support
of the RCMP."
He declined to elaborate on details of the operations, in case the evidence
gathered has to be used in court.
Canada's customs and immigration officials will also probably make use of the
country's recently acquired submarines for their work, which doesn't require
that the boats have external weapons, he said.
The submarine's ability to operate while remaining undetected for long periods
of time and over great distances makes it an attractive addition to any naval
force, he said. The sub is covered with special tiles to reduce its detection
by sonar.
HMCS Windsor's counterpart on the West Coast, HMCS Victoria, is undergoing
trials and working on preparing its weapons systems, Capt. McFadden said.
"So they're carrying the lion's share of that development," he said.
HMCS Windsor is developing its navigation and surveillance skills first and will
integrate its weapons systems later.
HMCS Windsor is one of four diesel-electric-powered Victoria-class subs that
were built in the late 1980s and early 1990s for the British navy, which
mothballed them in 1994 when it decided to concentrate on a nuclear fleet.
Buying new subs would have cost $3 billion to $5 billion, and the Canadian navy
figures it got a bargain by paying about $900 million.
"It's certainly more than my mortgage but a pittance compared to the cost of
many defence resources," Capt. McFadden said. "We got them at an exceptional
price."
The subs ran about three years behind schedule because of a series of technical
glitches.
When the British brought them out of storage, they found cracks in some key
valves. Repairs and tests to certify them safe to dive took longer than
expected, with delivery of a remaining sub, still in England, expected next
month.
All this delayed the process of installing Canadian equipment in the submarines,
which usually last for about 30 years, he said.
"The capability that is going to be delivered will be delivered at a
bargain-basement price compared to anybody else's ability to deliver," Capt.
McFadden said.
Although the role of submarines has shifted since the Cold War, they will still
have an important military presence, Capt. McFadden said.
"But every bit as important, Sept. 11 came along and our focus shifted to
Apollo, to sending task forces to the Arabian Gulf," he said.
Cmdr. Dermot Mulholland said submarines, which the country has operated since
1914, are essential to keeping Canada safe.
"We just keep proving it over and over again," he said. "It adds a third
dimension to our navy, which is essential for a medium-power navy like ours. "
HMCS Windsor carries a maximum of 59 people. Its top speed while submerged is
just over 37 kilometres per hour, and it can dive to 200 metres.
Its diesel generators are used to charge the two main batteries, and it is
usually quieter than a nuclear submarine, Capt. McFadden said.
