The five years contract could be extended up to 19 years
Canada has awarded Thales Canada in a joint venture with Thales Australia, with a €305m ($CAD450 million) five-year contract to provide in-service support (ISS) for Royal Canadian Navy Minor Warships and Auxiliary Vessels (MWAV). The agreement, extendible for one to nineteen years, concerns, among other, the update and optimization of digital technologies such as AI, big data, connectivity and cybersecurity.
The Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) fleet of MWAV includes about 100 vessels from 24 different classes, such as the Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels, Orca-class training vessels, tugs, dive tenders, research vessels, range vessels, and auxiliary support vessels. Thales is already providing in-service support to Arctic and Offshore Patrol (AOPS) and Joint Support Ships (JSS), known as AJISS.
Thales’ support for MWAV contributes to fulfilling broader political and military Canadian commitments. The Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels, in particular, contribute to NATO’s Operation REASSURANCE, Canada’s largest overseas mission to ensure deterrence and defence in Central and Eastern Europe, which is due to be expanded.
More broadly, the five-year contract with Thales is part of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, which seeks to support the country’s maritime industry. For its ISS for MWAV, Thales will collaborate with local actors, such as start-ups, academia and Canada’s innovation superclusters through specific company programs.
“Thales is committed […] to playing a vital role in fulfilling the promise of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. We are driven to leverage the know-how we have brought to Canada from Australia and the experience we’ve developed under AJISS. We embrace the potential for even more collaboration across Canada’s diverse and talent-rich innovation ecosystems to create capability, transform naval in-service support and deliver both value and excellence to the RCN,” commented Chris Pogue, CEO of Thales Canada.
