CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: Can the RCN Really Stop Russia and China in the Arctic?

[@Totem3377]

As a serving member of our navy, this is frankly hilarious. I'll have some of whatever the good admiral is having.

[@lessharratt8719]

Thank you for your service. Good luck.

[@jazzmandan7056]

Thank you for your service 😎👍🇨🇦

[@Joe3pops]

This admiral took all the lessons from his Afghan police training mission & then used his experience over there, adjusted to coastline something ornother. Lol 😂😅

[@ayo-v1p]

😂😂😂

[@Drumsticksmcgee]

It's amazing Canada used to have one of the biggest Navies in the world. Now it is just a fragment.

[@vonJaerschky]

It's good to know that our general officers are taking advantage of the new CAF cannabis policy. Just wish they wouldn't speak to the press before the effects wear off.

[@peter12803]

I read that Canada has more Generals than working tanks. Hard to defend the country from behind a desk in Ottawa.

[@inquisitorsquish5422]

this is absolutely true

[@cyniqueetsérieux]

top heavy, well paid club of good guys and dei

[@BC-li6zc]

We had 110 Tanks minus the ones Ukraine got and 120 Flag Officers. (generals)

[@jonsmitt9769]

We have roughly 1 general per 900? troops which is the highest ratio in NATO. For comparison the US marines have a ratio of 1 general per 3000 troops.

[@BC-li6zc]

@jonsmitt9769 Don't forget the CF has 16000 vacant positions. Which would change that ratio.

[@Capellix0001]

We cant even stop chinese weather balloons in our airspace 💀💀💀

[@Charles-k9g5y]

Neither could usa

[@billfarley9167]

Not the same thing.

[@djsmith2871]

@@Charles-k9g5y Juh-Biden chose not to do anything. Big difference.

[@Charles-k9g5y]

@ - let’s see, improved relationships with allies, passed an infrastructure bill, passed a reduction bill all the time fighting a republican congress that did nothing.

[@djsmith2871]

@@Charles-k9g5y Ha ha ha! Spare us. The list of his failures was much longer - and Americans took note and kicked his demented @$$ out along with his DEI VP. You can keep campaigning though. It's quite entertaining.

[@TB-zf7we]

This present Canadian Gov is not up to the challenge and leaves our forces responsible for the nations defense of our sovereignty, as a joke for capability.

[@BC-li6zc]

A single Chinese type 55 Destroyer could with only a forth of it's missiles could sink the entire RCN. The Chinese have 10 of these destroyers in service with 6 more being built. The weapons the Admiral is talking about mounting are the old 40 mm Bofors from WW2.

[@thims1961]

I believe their after market missile systems available as well

[@billfarley9167]

Sounds like the French and their famous Maginot Line.

[@billfarley9167]

Doubtful.

[@ronclark9724]

The Australians have a museum River class frigate that would love to mount a 40-mm Bofors mount she is missing... If Canada has 40-mm mounts in stock, they should donate it to this museum River class frigate...

[@mikeauber9164]

Just an absolute disgrace, we're doomed.

[@chriskitchen4772]

In so many ways, doomed.😳😠

[@wyldhowl2821]

"Presence with presence" is correct. A 25mm cannon is enough to do great harm to any civilian ship that decides they are going to push through our Northwest Passage without permission, obviously not go head-to-head against a major warship (or an icebreaker that is as heavily armed as one). If AOPS carries an armed helicopter, that could be armed with something that can take out a surface ship or a sub (assuming it can get through their defenses). That option is of course dependent on a lot of things too, like weather, like range from the ship. I would say his confidence also comes from some idea that an AOPS is part of a defense network that can be called upon to paint a target on someone while a Hornet or a sub-hunting plane is sent up there to really fuck somebody up. Any intruder that arrives alone. (And any larger force would mean open war, NATO article 5 and whatnot.) However, that last point is a big one. Keeping on the theme of "presence vs. presence", the most important factor in deterrence would be the willingness to fire upon an intruder. None of this "strongly worded diplomatic letter" shit. If you get a Russian or Chinese intruder - or American, let's be honest about who is most likely to intrude and claim we have no sovereignty - that means they are testing our resolve and that signals if they can start to do worse things, like claim waters or islands for their own use. Spilling some blood sends the message that we are willing to fight even a more powerful country, for what is hours. That message makes them recalculate, because now there is a heavy cost if they want to benefit wrongly. The time for diplomacy is before things like that happen, and make it clear we will not be allies with any nation that does not recognize what's ours is really ours. That's not being grandiose, but it is a test of whether our sovereignty matters to them, because the first step of mutual defense is mutual respect. Canada's armaments are not lagging half as much as our foreign policy assertiveness in defining & defending our own interests. (Libs have been weak on this because they want to be everyone's friend; Cons have been weak on this because they only want to kiss America's ass.) Just on the military forces & systems alone, if we really want to defend the arctic, yes, it is the AOPS but also some more capable subs in future, new radar/command planes, the much talked about improvements to long-range ground based radar, tankers, fighters, drones, and if they do not have one already, some kind of passive sensor network on the Arctic sea floor. And a proper military base at Nanisvik, one that can operate year round and has runways built to take any size of plane. (And oh yeah, make sure the Port of Churchill remains viable; too strategically important to let corporate decision making shut it down.) Building all into the CAF that is not going to be easy nor cheap; "budget conscious" people just need to face facts that it would need to be heavily subsidized by the Canadian public down south, because anything arctic is like that. (The Russians know this about their own arctic and accept it; they put strategic control ahead of shareholder dividends.) Just eat the costs and find a way to pay for them, because that is what it takes to protect all of Canada. It's a more worthy use for defense dollars than dubious expeditionary missions that serve someone else's power & glory.

[@markmielke5283]

The Russians are decades ahead of Canada in the Arctic. Their nuclear powered icebreaker fleet is second to none. This capability permits them to have a 24/7 365 day presence in the arctic. This "report" is laughable.

[@markmielke5283]

Also of note, some of the Russian Ice Breakers are VERY well armed with surface to air and surface to surface missiles as well as close in weapons support systems.

[@espritdecorpsmagazine]

This 'report' is based on a claim made by the Commander of the RCN to the National Post.

[@markmielke5283]

@espritdecorpsmagazine I was not referring to your video as the "report" in question.

[@homahochelaga7011]

Total madness! What’s going on inside some people’s heads is mind boggling!!

[@danadouglas1968]

Canada hasn’t got a hope in hell if they engage with Russia. The bull$hit propaganda from the government to the lowest ranked, brain dead flopper wannabe reservist is laughable and pathetic at best. Canada is finally being exposed for what it is….a weak, woke joke full of queers, cowards and kooks. The days of the brave Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen are gone. Forget the 2% of GDP spending. With the financial condition Canada is in, there isn’t anything left for the CAF. This all due to the socialist BULLSHIT that was allowed to creep into Canada starting with Lester B, and re-enforced by PET, Mulroney, Chretian and now that fucking clown, sparkle socks Trudeau. Only nationalist citizens are what’s left to fight against threats. But the threats are now within the borders of Canada and not external. Again, because of useless socialist loser voters who like the idea of free everything. Useless communists in actuality.

[@slybine579]

Canada will need to upgrade their radars. Current radar stations in the Arctic do not have access to over-the-horizon technology, which provides increased range at lower altitudes, limiting surveillance capabilities.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

And then what. What would they do about a incoming missile

[@robertsp0923]

Radar you say. What is radar? We have smoke signals.

[@icky_mack]

Lol. We couldn't defend ourselves ten years ago in the Arctic. We don't even make our own missiles, we rent them from the Yanks.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

Exactly. I don't think we even rent them

[@robjohnson5872]

It really speaks to what a joke our Navy has been allowed to become by successive governments. Building Ice Breakers that just don't work. Problems with propulsion, generators, flooding, and, oh yea, designed to launch and recover helicopters - a must have for their duty - but unable to. Who designed these? And yes, they were significantly overbudget and THEY DON"T WORK ! We give Irving billions of dollars in contracts, hundreds of millions in "grants", and they refuse to effect warranty repairs just of of the warranty date. Our friends to the south must have just shaken their heads during a recent large military exercise when our one working Ice breaker - pretty much brand new - broke down and had to be towed to port. One of four can be put to sea at a time. What's sad is that one in 4 (soon to be 5) is probably a better availability rate than our submarines. And here we are at perhaps the most dangerous time the world has seen since WWII, and we are years away from being able to contribute much to a war effort.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

I blame Harper for these slash ships. He promised 3 heavily armed ice breakers. What did we get. 6 slash boats with no weapons

[@tommcd8471]

@@lloydkuepfer1599 hard to blame the previous government for anything when the current one has had a decade to address the situation.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

@@tommcd8471 True. But it was under Harper where AOPS came into existence. Remember he promised 3 heavily armed ice breakers. Then give us 6 slush boats with no weapons. He should have went with first option

[@georgefox4982]

They are patrol boats with some ice breaking abilities plus the an additional use as supply ships for remote northern communities they where not ment to be combat ships

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

@georgefox4982 we should have gotten the 3 heavily armed ice breakers. Coast Guard can look after the other thing like resupply

[@MetallicBKW]

Having sailed with then LT(n) Topshee, he was an officer that was all that and his shit didn’t stink. However any blame is not his alone, the CAF has been Army leaning for years, in its management I mean. If the defence pie was made big enough and shared more evenly then that 25mm pew pew on the AOPS could of been a 100 mm boom boom, with a few missiles backing it up.

[@inquisitorsquish5422]

meh; my pistol in the LdSH was from 1954 this was in 2007. The leopard 1 rounds had 1977 stamped in them. I think it's a wrap for DND. I just tell everyone who'll listen to stay far away.

[@Joe3pops]

EM. All you are confirming then is that your lovely admiral is a two faced politician that only bends to the wishes of his current company. A careerist versus a military leader. He stroked you with his tongue.

[@ayo-v1p]

25mm pew pew 😂😂😂

[@gunny1234]

That Admiral has mastered the art of word salad..another talking head with medals that has never seen a real battle in his life

[@KellyBrownlee]

He must be a liberal with liberal fantasy thinking.

[@robertsp0923]

His wife states he puts up a real fight after he has washed the dishes. He absolutely refuses to dry them. What a man! The RCN is made up of one dingy, one oresman, one bailer and of course the Admiral. I will sleep much better tonight knowing they keep me safe. Our '' armed forces '' are a joke, with the new code of ethics and dress code , the three fighter aircraft we can actualy fly on Canada Day, the two Sherman tanks on tractor trailers and the one company of foot soldiers with wooden rifles. Troudeau will show those nasty Chinese and Russians he is one hard hombre.

[@John-kr7iz]

so our nuclear powered canoes aren't going to cut it?

[@user-buck-b7j]

Ouch lol...well imagine if took the 3.5 billion wasted on bilingualism and spent that on the navy for 5 years?

[@John-kr7iz]

@@user-buck-b7j would be a start

[@wcresponder]

The atomic beavers aren't ready yet.

[@benjaminedelman3523]

Well God damn. May God protect our sailors and all CAF service folks 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

[@garytredwell5649]

To say the CAF is a joke, is an insult to jokes.

[@PeterLorimer-ji5ut]

If CAF is a joke, it's 100% your fault. The Canadian taxpayer has failed to properly support CAF over the last 60 years. Funding Defence has never been a voting issue over that period. There are no votes in spending there. Thanks for your lack of caring and stop insulting the Armed Forces.

[@danadouglas1968]

@@PeterLorimer-ji5utThe tax payer?! pffff. Try again bud. It’s up to the government to decide how much funding they get and it’s the socialist governments that are dumping funding into USELESS shyte like Ukraine who’s losing that war when the money could be invested into our OWN military. Not to mention the pandering to the immigrants who are getting free EVERYTHING and have been for many years. And what another the money going to other foreign countries who do absolutely NOTHING for Canada. Don’t blame the tax payers. They’re just barely holding on by a financial thread.

[@proudcanadian67]

@@PeterLorimer-ji5ut you are right, we are all to blame. We let our Government destroy what is left of our proud military. You can see the decline started with Diefenbaker and his destruction of the Arrow programme. Ever since that year 1959, the military has been cut , cut , cut.... Now there is absolutely nothing left.

[@PeterLorimer-ji5ut]

@proudcanadian67 I served in the Navy on the 70s post-unification and we were making bricks without straws a half century ago and Canadians couldn't care less. Morale was low back then and here we all are again. Don't blame the Forces. Blame each and every Canadian citizen.

[@billfarley9167]

Methinks you're a young lad who plays a lot of video games in your mother's basement. Or better still, if you're an adult, suggest you do some indepth research about our military, which may play a role in downplating your insults. I spent 20 years in the Canadian navy. All services need more personnel, equipment and a better finacial budget, but we're not a joke. That hurts dude.

[@Steve-eq8iz]

I knew this one was coming as soon as I read that headline lol

[@alaindion3403]

Aren’t the AOPS only deployable in the Article between June and September!

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

Yes

[@ronclark9724]

Why Canada needs nuclear powered submarines or air independent diesel electric submarines with considerable range as there isn't a deep water port up there... While I won't say NOTHING, its nearly NOTHING...

[@GrizzAxxemann]

A 25mm Bushmaster vs 5" guns and missiles? Riiiiiiiiiiiiggggght.

[@ronclark9724]

The 25-mm Bushmaster chain gun is suitable for constable duties. Apparently the best weapon on the Arctic Ocean Patrol Ships is the helicopter, if she is carrying one in the hangar... No torpedo tubes, no close in weapons systems, missiles or guns, and no hull mounted or towed array sonars...

[@seniormale]

They couldn't stop a rubber ducky

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

Yep. The one Kathleen Winn had floating around

[@ImGumbyDangit]

There be the Canadian Forces Leadership spreading "Misinformation". I'm sure that both Russia and China had a good laugh over this. Good Report Scott.

[@derek89273]

I don’t believe the CAF can enforce much at the moment. Without the proper equipment and manning levels Vancouver island would be a task.

[@garytredwell5649]

They'd probably be able to restock the tampons in the men's head quickly though, @derek89273

[@ronclark9724]

Canada has no sea lift ships to support a large army unit like a division to defend either Vancouver or Newfoundland islands that do have a significant population. Nor does the Canadian army have a division of troops. With 22 thousand active soldiers, apparently the Canadian government won't get alarmed about the sad state of their armed forces until the enemy is within artillery range of Ottawa. Far too many Canadians expect Americans to defend them without any Canadians at the front line. I got news for those Canadians, without Canadian troops there won't be any American troops defending your FAR NORTH, which by the way isn't strong. There is no paved road, or a railroad leading to Canada's FAR NORTH, nor is there a deep water seaport up there. The last time any nation attempted to use transport aircraft to support a battalion of peacekeepers, hint Canada in Afghanistan, Canada had to buy new Hercules and Globemaster transport aircraft as the old Hercules failed. At least Afghanistan had a paved airport runway available, I wonder if there are paved airport runways on many of the islands of Canada's arctic archipelago?

[@kimyoung4836]

NO! They can't even figure on what song to dance to! 😂

[@pete-m86]

I think AOPS has a top speed of 14 knots in open water. No one is going to just wait around for your "presence" to catch up.

[@jonsmitt9769]

So our navy is tiny with tiny guns and we have enough sailors to crew 1/3 of what we do have. Backing them up is the RCAF that on a good day can put up a dozen ancient CF-18s that the Ukrainians didn’t even want for free. The rest of our arctic presence comprises of a few derelict Cold War lookout stations with obsolete equipment and about 300 indigenous hunters on snowmobiles. Please tell me I’m wrong.

[@ayo-v1p]

You are so very wrong when it comes to being wrong 😂😂😂

[@ronclark9724]

Apparently the Canadian government won't be alarmed about the sad state of Canada's armed forces until the enemy is within artillery range of Ottawa...

[@Jay42207]

Simple Answer: NO Wikipedia tells us what Russia and US naval weapons they have and from what I hear it's not even close

[@ayo-v1p]

Don’t believe everything you see on Wikipedia. Wikipedia can be edited. I myself have edited some articles on Wikipedia. But you best believe the Harry De Wolf class won’t serve as deterrence against external forces in the arctic. Russian America and China have better armed coast guard cutters than the AOPS😂

[@ronclark9724]

America has 425 thousand active soldiers in the army, and 187 thousand active marines. Canada has 22 thousand active soldiers in their army, never mind reserves...Need more be said? North Korea sent more troops to help Russia in Kursk...

[@PeterLorimer-ji5ut]

I don't know if the RCN is looking at it but the Brits have a small but nifty missile system called "Martlet" that can he bolted down to those AOPVs. The RN developed it to fit on their offshore patrol ships that are simikarly armed. Another way to give the AOPVs teeth is to replace the heavy antisubmarine Cyclone helicopters with something lighter with attack capability (which Canada lacks) that can also do quick "ahead" ice surveillence.

[@Quilustrucu]

This narrative is ridiculous. Russia and China couldn't care less about the canadian arctic. Russia has been busy developping its arctic trade route ALONG ITS COAST on the other side of the arctic ocean. I suspect the US wishing to do the same forcing Canada to accept international shipping in its internal waters.

[@espritdecorpsmagazine]

The narrative belongs to VAdm Topshee. He made the claim to National Post.

[@wyldhowl2821]

You're right about that. The Russians at least are content to have their own north-est passage / arctic sea route running, and for any Asia to Europe shippers, that route is far more efficient and direct than winding their way around our islands. Mineral wealth on our islands might be a temptation for someone like China, but if we Arctic nations (NATO ones at least) make it clear that no Chinese or Indian military vessels will be tolerated in the Arctic ocean, it keeps them out, and they can just depend on Russia's navy and stick to Russia's coastline. As for the Americans, yes, they are the real threat, the only major power making the ludicrous claim that our Northwest Passage is "international waters" when it goes entirely between islands which are all Canada's. We need to lean heavily on other allies like the UK, France, Denmark, Norway, etc. Anyone wants military or diplomatic help from Canada, the bottom line is they sign a document stating it is ours alone, ratify by treaty, whatever it takes. The Americans won't like that, but present this issue to them like this: If they want to be allies, they need to respect that what's ours is ours - or they can see that relationship end and imagine a huge gap in north America's defenses were NORAD used to be. Hard words delivered cold as ice is what works; cheap sentiment about being BFFs and being all nicey-wicey in negotiations does not.

[@allannantes8583]

@@wyldhowl2821a stance like that requires being able to let the Americans know that they can trust us to to able to defend our portion of the the Arctic without their help. I myself would like to see a progress report on how that is going. Like for instance have we at least ordered those new submarines yet. Oh and by the way they need to be nuclear powered, that will get us to 2% plus of GDP and everyone will be happy. Especially me.

[@MrLarryrobb]

well done i never heard of a navy ship that can,t defend it self what a joke

[@ianmclaughlin8987]

We already are in a wartime environment Mr Topsy, and with our slow procurement system, good luck pull extra weapons from you azz.

[@aussie1234]

Our leaders at CF all live in a bubble.

[@bryancampbell9622]

The Harry Dewolf class still hasn't shown its full capabilities. I know they are working on having towed sonar for the future helicopters so it can do anti-submarine warfare. And the room for containers leave it open to other capabilities. But I don't know what those could be. Can we add missiles? Can it connect to ground based missiles on our islands and control them?

[@TB-zf7we]

Probably not, this is the Canadian forces under a Liberal Gov with a dysfunctional procurement system. So even if some Admiral had a thought of a needed capability it probably didn't go much farther than a concept on a napkin.

[@vonpredator]

taking a typically static, (not moving) ground system onto a moving ship is problematic. Not to mention salt water environment plays hell on sensitive electronic, mechanical systems that are not specifically sealed or designed to handle it...

[@KellyBrownlee]

They don't have any capability's.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

Probably could add some missiles. But would have limits

[@edp8592]

The Cyclone can do ASW with its dipping sonar and sonos, and do it very well -- as long as you don't have to break through a few feet of ice, or dodge floating ice floes. IMHO, a towed array on a helo or ship in the Arctic with ice throughout will not work. The noise of the ice alone will hide any sub. For 24 hr. ASW operations you would need 2 ships working together with 2 helos on each -- good luck, if the AOPS can work through the ice. The RCN doesn't have the resources. As for anti-surface warfare, the AOPS don't stand a chance because of their poor sensor suite, and their massive radar signature. The helo can't help since it is not fitted for and cannot carry ASMs. Regardless, the Airforce doesn't have appropriate air-to-surface missiles for them.

[@AlanPinder-Moss]

I thought the 25mm was there to protect against polar bear attack, not to defend against the Russian and Chinese navies.

[@KellyBrownlee]

Thats more or less true. LOL

[@TaigaShaman]

They are just for show I don’t think we can afford any ammunition

[@AlanPinder-Moss]

@@TaigaShaman Worse than that. Like our missing artillery shells no capacity to build them.

[@jonvee7014]

I remember back in the late 70’s early 80’s watching a documentary on Canada’s Military called “Paper Soldiers” and from that time onward “none” of the political parties in Canada gave the military any priority including back in the early 90’s the dreaded FRP ( forces reduction plan) . It seems that whenever a political party needed to cut spending , the Military was always one of the first budgets to be slashed… 😢

[@ronclark9724]

Replenishment ships retired a decade before their replacements are built. Destroyers retired without a replacement after two decades. Fighters that won't be replaced until they are fifty years old.

[@djsmith2871]

Ah yes. The famous 'Peace Dividend' taken by a country that had been enjoying one since the Korean War.

[@davejohnson3773]

Our navy is nothing more than an extension to the coast guard. Russia has submarines that we have no capability to engage. The last of our naval power went away with the retirement of the destroyers. Our submarine fleet is a joke and was from the beginning of these old subs from England. All you navy types don’t get angry with my statement. All three of our services are useless in a fight and would be overwhelmed in a minute. We are unable to maintain the small numbers in the CAF as it is. Woke ideology does nothing for recruitment and absolutely nothing for retention.

[@tomfitzpatrick9875]

These AOPS can’t make it a week at sea without coming back to home port for repairs. It looks as though the RCN accepted shoddy work. In 1990 we did, however strap on harpoons and WW2 40mm Bofors for the Gulf. We also loaded aboard some artillery guys with Javelin air defence. Lots of trouble I suspect finding a crew to handle weapons in this class.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

They where built at wrong ship yard. Irving yard sucks

[@DerekDeJong-kp9ll]

A RAdm, former MARLANT, told me that when he saw the AOPs he said he wanted to give it to the coast guard. Does the CG have weapons? How do they guard the coast without them. Not sure that the A in CAF means much on the water.

[@DAC1979]

CCG Is an un armed civilian organization they don’t/ wont guard anything

[@FrankHallam]

The Canadian Coast Guard has no mandate to Guard. Their mandate is "to enable a national presence" in our oceans. They can do that by showing up once a year. Right now SEASPAN is getting ready to build our first polat 8 ice breaker. It should be a warship and should be nuclear. It will be neither.

[@Joe3pops]

BC Liz. You forget we removed those twelve 40mm Bofors several years ago. The minesweepers never got a replacement. So they put to Baltic Sea & off Taiwan coast, with two WW2 machine guns. Edit: same armament suite as USS Liberty 1967. Same as USS Pueblo 1968 off NK shores. It appears 2 machine guns are admirals sacrifice ships-crew. 😮😮😮😮😮 Edit: Indonesian newest pair navy minesweepers carry for close defense, two missile launchers. One on each bridge wing. And a 27mm Mauser auto cannon. That puts them ahead of the RCN in similar fleet vessels.

[@schizophrenic4208]

Canada needs to make there own ships

[@ronclark9724]

Where and with what funds? Apparently all of the Canadian existing shipyards are producing ships, behind schedule and above cost...

[@djsmith2871]

​@@ronclark9724Like WAAY over budget. Weren't these AOPS hundreds of millions more than the ALREADY DESIGNED Danish versions they are based on? Canada getting its last Type 26 frigate in 2050!!! Something is very rotten - but not in Denmark.

[@djsmith2871]

Chyyyna decides to send an ice breaker through the Northwest Passage. What are we going to do about it? Exactly

[@ronclark9724]

Why bother to do anything? Canada most likely has NOTHING up there in the FAR NORTH, as it is not strong....

[@djsmith2871]

@ronclark9724 That's the whole point. Canada doesn't have any ability. Hasn't built up any meaningful capability. People say "Oh we'll mine it!" Seriously? We can barely sail a ship through without all the Greenpeacers losing their minds, and you think the public will support dropping sea mines in the water? BTW Canada doesn't have any, so once again we'll have to ask the Americans to do it.

[@stephane8305]

Another element here is that enrolment is at an all time low. Those ship can not run themselves.

[@ronclark9724]

There are solutions to staffing problems. Either improve pay and housing, or impress sailors the RN did two centuries ago... I recall the Americans fighting a war over RN impressing American sailors...

[@inquisitorsquish5422]

is it a 25mm busmaster like in the LAV's?

[@minuteman4199]

Yes. Pathetic isn't it. A 7000 ton warship with the same armament as an APC.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

​@@minuteman4199That's on Harper. Very disappointing.

[@allannantes8583]

@@lloydkuepfer1599it is not on Harper, Trudeau modified the NSS so much that it is a shadow of what it was supposed to be when it was introduced in 2008. The last of 15 type 26 destroyers arrive in 2049. That is so sad it is laughable.

[@polaris6644]

What makes me laugh is that standoff capability is of the utmost importance for the growing theatre that is the Arctic, and yet the procurement is taking a perfectly good destroyer platform and slashing offensive capabilities, not to mention attempting to procure diesel electric submarines for the kind of under polar ice work you need a nuclear sub for.

[@HooligansCanada]

Is the Cracken implying RCN ships will carry Artillery Air Defence troops with Blowpipe MANPADS like back in the Gulf War?

[@minuteman4199]

That's what it sounds like, except I don't think we have that capability anymore.

[@espritdecorpsmagazine]

@@minuteman4199 We are looking into buying air defence for the forward deployed battle group in Latvia. That was announced as an 'urgent' procurement in 2023.

[@wyldhowl2821]

@@espritdecorpsmagazine How nice for Latvia.

[@StarLakeFarm]

I think it is worth noting that the AOPS has the CMS (Combat Management System) 330 which is also used on the Halifax class frigates. So the AOPS is wired to handle other weapons systems in the future.

[@djsmith2871]

Yes. The soon to be developed Mk 69 VTL (Vertical Tampon Launcher)

[@SaveCanada00]

The Canadian Brass has a huge boner for make-believe reporting. It's second only to brutal procurement processes in terms of damage.

[@hughjass1044]

My humble opinion; or put another way, my two cents worth, which is likely its actual value since I'm no expert, is that this is all a bit of a red herring and that Topshee is likely correct. For the moment. And that I believe, is what he's talking about. Since such a hypothetical incursion would A) constitute an extreme provocation on the part of whichever country attempted it with little to no benefit for doing so and B) bring the full might of the US Navy to bear; whether we or the intruder asked for it, needed it or even approved it, there would be little reason to worry about such a thing. Any potential adversary knows full well what such an act would mean not only to us but also to the US which is who those adversaries see as their principle adversary no matter how well kitted out our navy might be. Outside of an open, ongoing and hot conflict between the sides, there would be essentially zero reason for any of these parties to attempt such an incursion and even less benefit for them. And if such a conflict were to arise, A) our adversaries' attention would be fully occupied elsewhere and B) the US Navy would be in our Arctic waters in force whether we liked it or not and no matter how well prepared we might be. That's just the reality. Neither China nor Russia do these sorts of provocations. They stick to perimeter level stuff designed to annoy and harass us and keep us constantly responding and keeping us on our toes. China doesn't even do this sort of thing with Taiwan, preferring instead to loiter around the margins coming just short of what would provoke a response. That is the most that either would even attempt in the NW passage since to do more would unquestionably bring a very strong response indeed. We are quite capable of dealing with the perimeter harassment stuff but having said that, none of it is an excuse for not bringing our forces up to standard.

[@KellyBrownlee]

You don't have to always be an expert to know the right thing to do, most of the time just common sense will do.

[@wyldhowl2821]

The US is more likely to be the intruder than anyone else. "The might of the US navy" only serves their own interests, which in this case actually clash with ours.

[@Multheman02]

The answer to the title of the video is”NO”! Why is this question even asked?

[@davidlefranc6240]

If they can install more weaponry on this thing a nice set of Exocet new gen would help for sure .

[@ronclark9724]

Buy and install the Navy Strike Missile developed by Norway... America and many of our allies are replacing Harpoons with the Navy Strike Missile. America is also installing them on their underarmed LCS ships...

[@codyj7532]

Any thoughts about opening a new northern military base in the port of Churchill? It would be huge for western Canada that need it open for shipping to europe

[@joerichards2658]

I think we need to recommission those subs that used to be in West Ed Mall to supplement our patrol capabilities. 25mm cannon vs a Russian P-700 Granit anti-ship cruise missile... Netflix would probably stream the fight.

[@dmeinhertzhagen8764]

Topshee is a clown!

[@timsecord8207]

OMG, we're so screwed!

[@enzocannizzo8744]

As an American, I follow Scott’s informative KZbin channel. Please be advised I did not view the presentation, but I am taken aback by the comments. I know you guys up North are telling it like it is. However, it's sad to read the comments. What hurts are your brave countrymen who took an oath to defend Canada. Are they in harms way even before they have a chance to defend themselves ??? In the past, I commented The CAF must be like the USMC. The Marines could not be America’s second Army. The US Army has its role as nasty, big, and massive firepower. The USMC went back to its roots fast, nimble, and light. Canada must find a footing. Maybe a REAL focus on the Arctic with the US and Scandinavian countries. True the ships that are built like our Freedom and Independence LCS class have limited use and had problems. RCN has their LCS issue too ! Our problem was we spent twenty years in the sand while China / Russia used that time to address strategic build-up. I wish I had some answers .. Maybe a North American Defense Command where US / Canadian assets are combined.

[@chriskitchen4772]

Short answer, NO !!! I noticed also that the admiral is unfortunately delusional.😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@timmytwodogs]

Those Harry DeWolfe class scows are not warships by any definition. There's far to much ship above the water line, they're not armored, they're pitifully slow and carry a single popgun for "defence". They wouldn't stand a chance against a Borei or Yasen class nuke sub. Canada has to start taking defence seriously now, not 20 years from now and what about the promised replacements for the aging CF-18s ? Without effective air assets to patrol and intercept foreign incursions in the north, everything else is pointless.

[@minuteman4199]

Canada is an Indian colony. If they want to defend us they're welcome to. As far as I'm concerned the biggest threat to me and my family is the Canadian government.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

Exactly

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

Canada should have 400 fighter jets

[@robertsp0923]

Troudeau has gone all out with a new budget for our armed forces. Effective in 2025 all personnel regardless of rank will be issued ( free of charge ) one white flag.

[@CharlesLambert137]

This story is a microcosm of the Canadian economy: all talk and no meaningful results. Not surprising since all Canadians seem to have mastered is bureaucracy.

[@cyniqueetsérieux]

Aircraft and satellites

[@ProbablyNot3371]

If we can't defend our borders and resources, the Americans will. If they step in against belligerent actors on our behalf, are we a sovereign nation anymore? Or a protectorate of a foreign power?

[@Bellmere]

For at least the last 40 years the unstated policy of Canadian governments (of all parties) has been exactly that - to be a protectorate while occasionally bleating about Canadian 'sovereignty', especially over the Arctic. Worked as long as we could rely on a policy of benign neglect out of Washington. The Americans are already routinely sending their submarines to patrol 'Canada's' arctic ocean. I wonder if they are even consulting Canada in advance. I am pretty sure Russian and possibly Chinese submarines up there are not.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

Probably not a good idea to think young Americans would die for Canada. If they're not willing

[@garywagner2466]

Maybe not if Trump decides to let Trudeau get a bloody nose. I wouldn’t worry about the Western Arctic because of Alaska, but the Eastern Arctic is vulnerable. Denmark is not exactly a staunch military ally.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

Meaning Canadians

[@TerryBiccum-x8n]

I am a retired Veteran and am appalled at the way the military has gone. And if we were to protect our northern country by the time we could suppliment our small ships, it would bre to late. At one time Canada had one of the most powerful Navies now we are an embarrassment. This my opinion and many of my military friends also agree. This my opinion.

[@billfarley9167]

Canadian Navy veteran here: Without getting into personalities in this comment section, I would like to say that if Russia or China became our adversaries in the Canadian Arctic that NATO, the Commonwealth of Nations, the United States and others around the globe, would have our backs. But before that happens I would think Canada would have spent considerable time at the table establishing our sovereignty. If that didn't bear fruit, a military action against any ship(s) that defied our sovereignty might convince them that we're serious. The USA has never recognized Canada's sovereignty over the NW Passage, so we may be in for rough times. Personally, I believe the best course would be to recognize Canada's sovereignty over the Passage, but have this sea lane managed by an international body of participating countries.

[@ronclark9724]

How will NATO support and supply a division of troops in the FAR NORTH without a paved highway, railroad, or a deep water port up there? Has Canada even built up any fortifications in the not so strong FAR NORTH? Paved runways for fighter jets in the FAR NORTH archipelago?

[@Joe3pops]

Danish navy arctic patrol vessel, 76 mil Oto Melara cannon. Excellent Thetis class 11(!!!!)machine guns inclusive. Depth charges, torpedo launcher. Norwegian arctic patrol vessel, 57 mil, one missile launcher, one .50 BMG. Russian arctic patrol vessel, 100 mil auto cannon. Canadian arctic patrol vessel, 25 mil.pop gun, adequate for hostile polar bears.

[@ryan2011]

I wish they would just be honest about these ships and their capabilities. They're more lightly armed than an IFV and have no active defense. Just admit they're training vessels with some light coast guard duties. Then lets move on to purchasing some larger more capable ships.

[@claytontucker8179]

Details determine basics, simple terms. Defend yourself or you die. Scary stuff but true. Cited by SCTV

[@GearJammer87]

The reason he (the admiral) changed his tune is simple. HIS superiors (the Lieberals) told him to do so or get the boot.

[@alexdoiron8419]

I agree with the Vice Admiral. The CAF can defend the arctic from Russian or Chinese ships trying to perform an opposed transit. The navy by itself, no. The Russian or Chinese vessel would have no air cover. They would be a sitting duck for air strikes from CF-18's. We've already seen that air defences on Russian ships are vastly exaggerated.

[@Joe3pops]

Admiral forgets convieniently, it takes time and prior knowledge to retro fit the poorly armed DeWolfe class patrol vessels. It should have a 57 mil forward. It should have one 20 mil Phalanx CIWS. It should have one missile launcher. Those heavy machine guns should be able to be aimed-fired from below decks in cold, inclement weather. Topspee likes to forget that some 50 Canadian merchant vessels were sunk during WW2. They were not combat vessels either. Admiral is a lia....

[@412griffon]

SNAFU

[@RhumRunner41]

You can install any upgraded weapon system on any platform. The trick is to do it fast, which the FMFs are not capable of. But that would be a pointless endeavour as the AOPVs were not designed for combat hence having very little in ways of survivability & recoverability capabilities so one missile, torpedo, or even a gun hit will be enough to incapacitate or even sink a HDW class vessel. It’s a real shame to see what the last two or three governments turned our once proud Navy into.

[@racerbugg1]

We would need assistance, to collect our sailors out of the water after one hit from either Russia or China. As stated, not enough marine technicians to sail more then 2 boats at a time (counting both coasts here). If we were sent as a lone AOPV against any threat, that's a suicide mission. And I'm pretty sure a lot of sailors would call in sick for that mission.

[@robertsp0923]

Not ot worry Troudeau has it all figured out. Effective in 2025 all armed forces personnel will be issued with a .... white flag and BIG fold out signes which will read '' please do not shoot, take all you want .

[@AlanPinder-Moss]

I got to thinking about all the missile pods we would have to load on the unused heicopter landing pad. Anti surface ship, anti-submarine, anti -air ( jet aircraft). Of course the latest is drone warfare ala Ukraine. So anti-drone and also for some offensive, drones of our own. All electonic warfare stuff that might not work in the high arctic. I noticed pictures of the engine room flooding. Did they compartilize the ship otherwise one torpedo could sink it. I believe the Admiral has his work cut out for him. I am not a naval expert. Just some thoughts.

[@jstephen]

😂😂😂😂😂😂 I don’t think we have the weapons systems on any of our ships that could do the job, let alone the woefully under armed arctic patrol craft. They are just that patrol craft on not even that if we had a full on winter blast.

[@KellyBrownlee]

Even other patrol craft from other countries are better than the Canadian arctic patrol craft by far.

[@allannantes8583]

I think they were designed to deliver groceries to our northern citizens.

[@ayo-v1p]

If operating the cyclone maritime helicopter is an issue, shouldn’t consideration be given to umanned rotorcrafts that can conduct surveillance. They consume less space and are less heavier and would be less difficult to land and secure on the deck and bring into the hangar. And while Russia and China are a cause of concern for the Canadian arctic, I would like to say the United States shouldn’t be overlooked. All it takes is for the discovery of a very critical resource or a strategic location and the word “ally” becomes a thing of the past. History has proven the US has no friends, just similar interests.

[@ronclark9724]

Canada's FAR NORTH is not strong.... There is NOTHING up there besides a few native militias in snowmobiles and quads...

[@jimf1964]

So wait, are you telling me they have no ship to ship, or ship to air missiles? I knew they only had one small cannon, because their main job is more like stopping drug traffickers, and just making a presence up north, and besides, the days of big battle ships is over, but I thought they had some actual battle capacity.

[@achristian7015]

Tell me WHY everytime we do anything, it ends up being a POS. Farm out our requirement to someone who knows what they doing instead of making everything a make-work project. So typical at DND.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

I agree with you on that point

[@achristian7015]

@@lloydkuepfer1599 Don't get me going on those cr@p submarines we bought from the British where they themselves placed them into their junk pile. Your tax dollars are hard at work. Let me roll my eyes.

[@edp8592]

It ends up this way because the politicians get involved. They have to ensure that their riding/city or province gets a piece of the 'offset' pie that is integral in the contract. Furthermore, the politicians make the final decision as to which contractor is going to win (Sea King Replacement, F-35, submarines, etc). The military seniors should be given their 'marching orders' as to what is expected of the military The seniors should make the decisions as to who will get the contract (along with penalty clauses in each contract), to ensure that the equipment meets the requirements stated. If it doesn't, the seniors are fired, and punished appropriately (not with lucrative pensions and civilian jobs). If it is the contractor's fault, the penalty clauses should be invoked. I suspect that would change the process. Until there is a MASSIVE change, it will continue to be the epitome of stupidity.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

​@@edp8592 Them are very good ideas.

[@johnlang150]

Love our Military, we might not be a well known but we ARE an effective military, even what we/they have in equipment BUT OUR MILITARY has proven themselves many times over to be a very scariest militaries in the world yet as Canadians we like to be so low key. Our women and men ( with shit equipment ) are TP NOTCH, bless you all.

[@Isaac-muntz]

😂😂😂😂😂 In what world

[@ayo-v1p]

@@Isaac-muntz😂😂😂

[@ayo-v1p]

Erase that “very scariest” and put in “somewhat professional”.😂

[@robertsp0923]

It is not the military where the problem lies. It is with the politicians who would rather spend our tax dollars '' other '' more important projects. Be they red, blue orange or pink our politicians have sold our military down the drain.

[@jamesdiaz793]

Another clueless, disengaged, obsequious senior officer commenting for political expediency. At least they are consistent. And I don't know what FOB arrangement he is thinking of but it seems akin to the 'brilliance' of Dien Bien Phu.

[@leschnoothegreat]

I had a good laugh

[@Multheman02]

Any rank over a Colonel/ Captain(N) turn into basically public servants, they will say anything they need to say in order to gain favours or stay Relevant for their political masters.

[@edlubitz2968]

Not the navy the Air Force, we can deploy planes with ship killing missiles, now if we only had enough missiles

[@edp8592]

We don't have any at the present time, and I doubt that there are any in the foreseeable future.

[@garywagner2466]

If we had planes and bases to fly them from. We don’t.

[@garywagner2466]

Of course not. No ships, subs, bases, air support or troops. Canada couldn’t defend Herschel Island.

[@ronclark9724]

Or deep water ports which implies Canada should have some amphibious ships, but alas Canada doesn't... Canada should have acquired the two Mistral LHDs France refused to sell to Russia a decade ago...

[@ap0lmc]

We need massive nuclear ice breakers for the Coast Guard they could pay for themselves creating a Northern shipping route saving half the distance to Panama Canal

[@Michael-u3n5l]

What we need is a super majority conservative government to rebuild our forces to the max . problem is now we don't have the money to deploy canoes

[@RichGallant]

Not to knock the sailors who are doing the best they can but I am pretty sure they could not stop a drunk polar bear on rampage

[@marcusaetius9309]

Until and unless we build arctic grade nuclear powered submarines and ice breakers we are just wasting our time and money. On the upside since the USA is the only country that doesn’t consider our northwest passage to be Canadian waters we can do what we usually do and release our sovereignty to them.😑

[@allannantes8583]

I don’t think so.

[@allannantes8583]

Yes to getting nuclear powered subs but no to giving up our sovereignty.

[@marcusaetius9309]

@ I agree, I was being sarcastic on the second point 👍🏻.

[@allannantes8583]

@@marcusaetius9309 sorry my bad.

[@pin65371]

We need nuclear ice breakers that are armed. I also think once micro reactors are proven we should build a bunch of bases in the arctic. We should have the ability to launch missiles from them and they should have paved runways. It also seems like buying F15's wouldnt be a bad idea. Their two engines would be safer for arctic patrols and if they need to respond to an actual threat they could be paired with F35s where the F35 only is used for targeting while the F15 would be taking out the threats. The problem we have is that is all expensive and nobody wants to spend the money on something that could never be used. There is an older Norway military recruitment video where they bring up that point and they say they hope they never need to use their military. Our politicians need to sell that to Canadians. We are going to spend tens of billions or even hundreds of billions on stuff we hope we never use. If we make it so expensive for Russia or China to infringe in our territory.

[@philliptallack646]

Yeah, cause we only have AOPs.....

[@dragon26ist]

Canada is so far behind Russia in the Arctic it’s far from funny

[@Joe3pops]

Nothing in our littoral navy demonstrates adequate defense. Our 8 Orca vessels play at sea unarmed. Our 12 Kingston vessels had thier main gun removed several years ago. Replaced with NOTHING. No littoral navy vessel has a missile launcher. No littoral navy vessel can launch torpedoes or drop depth charges. Not even 1 single littoral vessel has a main gun capable of real shore bombardment. No littoral vessel puts to sea with a Cyclone. Our littoral navy fleet more closely resembles a civilian cruise line, that purports to train navy officers. For exactly what, i am unsure? Mass abandonment-surrender perhaps????? Exact same as this admirals last overseas mission!

[@edp8592]

Our navy doesn't have to go to sea to demonstrate its lack of capability. A single sub, on each coast and outside of our territorial waters could destroy every major port and the ships within, with cruise missiles before the CDS even knew what happened. Our ports have no self-defence capability. Our 'frigates' could barely defend themselves in the open seas as long as there was a very limited threat. If one were to add drones, at sea or in port, the situation would be ludicrous. A drone swarm would be incomprehensible in its offensive capability against the RCN.

[@Joe3pops]

Edp. You are correct in everything you say here sir. Unfortunately.....

[@hollow1943]

no we cant...to be fair i am 1005 pro canada but we dont have neither the man power, equipment or the infracture. i am born in the 80's i can remember during the first gulf war we had to turn down system because our cf-18 where lacking capability. We are still talking about changing them 30 years later. We lack the man power first and for most....

[@KellyBrownlee]

What Canada lacks is the willpower of politicians to supply are armed forces properly.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

My goodness. Look at population we had in second world War. Yes. Canadians need to start having children again. No excuse that we're in this condition. Look at Ukraine. Alot like Canada. But they had to change. And very quickly.

[@lloydkuepfer1599]

​@@KellyBrownleeExactly.

[@jamesgardiner-g9p]

Building ships with a pop gun is similar to corvettes during ww2 sent overs with wood log as a 4 inch gun Leave to Canadians leaving our ships not armed for the job they where built for?

[@SpruceMoose-iv8un]

There's nothing in the arctic, if a Russian battle group were to infringe in Canadian territory wtf are they going to do? Sit in the arctic until they run out of food then sail to a safe port for resupply? What would be done is the airforce would be sent to launch some missiles, if Canada had an airforce large enough to properly defend Canada also if we had enough tankers to support multiple long range ops and if they had proper modern anti ship missile's and ummm could have used those F35's yesterday...

[@jazzmandan7056]

The 🇨🇳 ‘maybe’, but not 🇷🇺.. They 🇷🇺 have far more experience and assets in that part of the world. Our assets would be staring down the barrels of some bigger ordinance with 🇷🇺. It would be a ‘stretch’ for 🇨🇳 to commit some assets up there, never mind getting around Alaska. I’m surprised Topshee still has his job after his commentary from last year. On point, but.. 🙄 RCN is looking at setting up a naval reserve post in Whitehorse, Yukon in 2025. There’s more than enough blame and bitching to go around without everyone sitting around like a bunch of old hens. If we keep the politicians whining at this ‘it’s gonna cost, it’s gonna cost’, it’ll never get done. We have to look at this from the perspective as an investment, being that the ounce of prevention is worth the pound of cure. As someone once said, kinetics win the battles, but logistics wins the war. Time to get moving on all things and get those subs ordered ✈️

[@uniroyalbarrie]

No. Plain and simple.

[@Isaac-muntz]

Truly laughable

[@Ray-gf9su]

As we have seen over the last couple of decades the CAF has been underfunded and poorly directed. Unless there is a radical change in leadership both in the government and within the military we are royally screwed. For this we can thank both the Liberals and the Conservatives.

[@sf100800]

another dreamer wonder what he's on today certainly isn't common sense

[@mage_mini1945]

Is he higher than the amount of Indians in Canada?

[@sharjeelkhan7437]

If Canada becomes part of USA , then it will be protected.

[@EvilvonScary]

brass is as delusional as ever