Canada mulls Arctic patrol ship programme cuts

The Canadian Navy may have to pare down the number of ships or reduce the capability of its Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) programme due to strict budget constraints on the CAD3.1 billion (USD2.9 billion) programme, according to Canadian federal documents.

The minutes of planning meetings held between 2007 and 2009, which were obtained by The Canadian Press news agency, outline the navy's willingness to trade capability and numbers to remain within the projected costs of the programme.

Measures included reducing the calibre of the main gun from 76 mm or 57 mm to 25 mm, procuring less powerful engines and limiting the number of hulls at six instead of the "six to eight" that were specified previously, the minutes said.

During a recent week-long tour of the Canadian Arctic, Prime Minster Stephen Harper did not mention the AOPS programme – a sign that the programme is facing difficulty, Arctic expert Rob Huebert, associate director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, told Jane's on 30 August. These annual trips have in the past provided a stage for progress reports on the AOPS initiative.

In August, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon released Canada's latest Arctic policy statement, which emphasised diplomatic dialogue and shied away from explicitly mentioning the military capabilities Canada may bring to bear in policing the Northwest Passage.