Canada shortlists German, South Korean yards for massive sub program

VICTORIA, British Columbia — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will head to South Korea in late October to visit Hanwha Ocean’s facilities as the competition to provide Canada with a new submarine fleet has narrowed to two potential bidders .

Carney announced in Berlin on Aug. 26 that Canada had shortlisted thyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Hanwha Ocean as the two firms that are being considered for Canada’s program to acquire up to 12 conventionally-powered submarines.

Carney then travelled the same day to Kiel in northern Germany to tour the thyssenKrupp facilities. He said he would also travel to Hanwha Ocean’s facilities in late October. Carney is expected to be in South Korea at that time for the APEC South Korea 2025 Summit which runs Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.

Carney announced the shortlisting of the two firms during a news conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Carney said the new Canadian submarines will be expected to operate in the Arctic under ice for weeks at a time as well as in demanding conditions on Canada’s other coasts.

“So that’s how the field narrows quite quickly,” he told reporters. “So it’s a testament to both of these companies, both of these consortiums, that they qualify.”

In a separate news release issued Aug. 26, Public Services and Procurement Canada noted that “Canada will conduct in-depth engagements with the two qualified suppliers to continue to advance the procurement process. Canada intends to leverage work on the submarines to generate economic benefits for Canada’s marine and defence industry throughout the fleet’s operational life.”

The Canadian government formally began its efforts to acquire a fleet of new submarines when it requested information from various firms in September 2024. The request to industry asked for information on the production cost for acquiring eight or 12 submarines, among other details. No information on the project budget has been released yet but defense and industry analysts have noted the cost would be at least $60 billion Canadian dollars, $44 billion U.S.

The current fleet of Victoria-class submarines operated by the Royal Canadian Navy will be decommissioned in the mid-2030s, the Canadian government has noted. To avoid any gap in Canadian submarine capabilities, Canada anticipates a contract award by 2028 with the delivery of the first replacement submarine no later than 2035, according to Canadian government officials.

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems is looking to offer Canada the Type 212CD submarine which is being developed jointly with Norway.

Hanwha Ocean is proposing its KSS-III, which is already in service with South Korea’s navy.

Both companies have promised to work closely with Canadian firms.

TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard noted that the company’s submarines are well suited for Arctic and under-ice operations, the Canadian Press news service reported Aug. 26.

In an Aug. 27 statement, Hanwha noted it can deliver four KSS-III submarines before 2035 if a contract is awarded next year. The additional eight submarines would be delivered at a rate of one per year, meaning the entire fleet of 12 submarines could be delivered to Canada by 2043, the company added.

Royal Canadian Navy Commodore Jason Armstrong, Director General of Naval Force Development, told industry officials April 10, 2025 that the first of the new class of submarines will be delivered in 2035 with initial operating capability by 2037.

The submarines are to be capable of deploying undetected to a range of 3,500 nautical miles and patrol covertly for 21 days, according to the Armstrong’s briefing document which was provided to Defense News by Canada’s Department of National Defence.

The new submarines will be armed with heavy torpedoes, anti-ship cruise missiles and precision-strike capabilities, the briefing noted.

The four Victoria-class boats, originally known as the Upholder-class, were purchased second-hand from the Royal Navy. The first three Victoria-class submarines were accepted into Royal Canadian Navy service between 2000 and 2003. The fourth submarine suffered a fire in transit to Canada in 2004, which delayed its acceptance into RCN service until 2015.

The submarines are currently undergoing various improvements and upgrades to keep them operating until the mid to late 2030s.

David Pugliese is the Canada correspondent for Defense News.

加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省维多利亚市——加拿大总理马克·卡尼将于10月下旬前往韩国参观韩华海洋公司的设施，因为为加拿大提供新潜艇舰队的竞争已缩小到两家潜在竞标者。

8月26日，卡尼在柏林宣布，加拿大已将蒂森克虏伯海洋系统公司和韩华海洋公司列入候选名单，这两家公司将参与加拿大采购至多12艘常规动力潜艇的项目。

卡尼当天随后前往德国北部城市基尔，参观了蒂森克虏伯的工厂。他表示，10月下旬还将参观韩华海洋的工厂。届时，卡尼预计将在韩国出席10月31日至11月1日举行的2025年亚太经合组织韩国峰会。

卡尼在柏林与德国总理弗里德里希·默茨共同举行的新闻发布会上宣布了这两家公司入围名单。卡尼表示，加拿大新型潜艇预计将在北极冰层下连续作业数周，同时也要在加拿大其他沿海地区的严苛条件下执行任务。

“这样一来，入围名单就很快缩小了，”他告诉记者。“这两家公司、这两个财团能够入围，足以证明它们的实力。”

加拿大公共服务和采购部在8月26日发布的另一份新闻稿中指出，“加拿大将与两家合格供应商进行深入洽谈，以继续推进采购流程。加拿大计划利用潜艇项目，在舰队的整个服役期内为加拿大海洋和国防工业创造经济效益。”

加拿大政府于2024年9月正式启动了采购新型潜艇舰队的计划，当时它向多家公司发出了信息征询函。该征询函要求业界提供采购8艘或12艘潜艇的生产成本等信息。目前尚未公布项目预算，但国防和行业分析人士指出，该项目的成本至少为600亿加元（约合440亿美元）。

加拿大政府指出，加拿大皇家海军目前使用的维多利亚级潜艇将于2030年代中期退役。为避免加拿大潜艇能力出现任何断层，加拿大政府官员表示，预计将在2028年前完成新潜艇的采购合同，并最迟于2035年交付首艘替代潜艇。

蒂森克虏伯海洋系统公司正寻求向加拿大提供与挪威联合开发的 212CD 型潜艇。

韩华海洋公司正在推广其KSS-III型船，该船目前已在韩国海军服役。

两家公司都承诺将与加拿大公司密切合作。

据加拿大通讯社8月26日报道，TKMS首席执行官奥利弗·伯克哈德指出，该公司的潜艇非常适合北极和冰下作业。

韩华在8月27日的一份声明中指出，如果明年获得合同，该公司可以在2035年前交付四艘KSS-III型潜艇。该公司补充说，剩余的八艘潜艇将以每年一艘的速度交付，这意味着到2043年，全部十二艘潜艇都可以交付给加拿大。

加拿大皇家海军准将、海军部队发展总监杰森·阿姆斯特朗于 2025 年 4 月 10 日告诉业界官员，第一艘新型潜艇将于 2035 年交付，并于 2037 年具备初始作战能力。

根据加拿大国防部提供给《防务新闻》的阿姆斯特朗号简报文件，这些潜艇能够不被察觉地部署到 3500 海里的范围内，并秘密巡逻 21 天。

简报指出，新型潜艇将配备重型鱼雷、反舰巡航导弹和精确打击能力。

这四艘维多利亚级潜艇，最初被称为“捍卫者”级，是从英国皇家海军购买的二手艇。前三艘维多利亚级潜艇于2000年至2003年间陆续加入加拿大皇家海军服役。第四艘潜艇在2004年运往加拿大的途中发生火灾，导致其服役时间推迟至2015年。

目前，这些潜艇正在进行各种改进和升级，以确保它们能够服役到 2030 年代中后期。

David Pugliese 是《国防新闻》的加拿大通讯员。