Introducing The FASST-V Infobox
Infobox
With the popularity of our CDC infobox, and now with some more solid information available, I think it's fairly well time that we expand our infobox series to new platforms. So, what better platform to jump on than FASST-V?
The navy's latest concept, along with AMB, the Future At Sea Sovereignty & Training Vessels, aim to augment and replace the existing Orca-class training vessels with a new, modern training platform able to both support the RCN's growth plans as well as provide a platform for security response, SAR support, and sovereignty exercises.
The class will retain the general size of the Orca, around 35–40m with a max 3m draught. This is to both ensure they can operate efficiently in the coastal reaches of the St. Lawrence and Inside Passage, as well as fit in existing berthing infrastructure available to Naval Reserves across Canada.
And that is their primary purpose: providing existing naval reserves with a platform that they can operate and train on; a vessel that can be used to not only support training but act as a present figure to many of Canada’s communities who oftentimes may not get to see the navy very often in their lives.
Of course, presence is important, and the navy seems to recognize better than most the concept of ‘the brand’; how one markets and presents itself in a modern context, and one that they've decided needs to include regular public access and interaction.
Along with that, the navy has also made a note to increase the role that reserves play in recruitment and training. Vice-Admiral Topshee has made it clear that he imagines a future where the reserves serve as both the introduction and training source for the majority of future recruits.
Along with other programs like the Naval Experience Program, expanded university pipelines as we've seen with places like the Institut Maritime du Québec, and talks of the navy taking back basic training to their own in-house program, the navy sees the reserves, and FASST-V, as the critical node in the pipeline. They act as both the primary source of recruiting and a way of ensuring that Canadians from the coasts into the Great Lakes have access to commissioned vessels they can learn and operate on close to home.
FASST-V also provides another tool to the RCN: a platform that can be used to further support Maritime Domain Awareness and sovereignty patrols. FASST-V will not be a heavily equipped vessel. It will be limited, as of now, to small arms and light weapon systems. This will likely top out at .50 caliber like the existing Orca fleet (who remembers that fun time in Vancouver?), though it could be varied dependent on task.
FASST-V will give the RCN something they have greatly lacked: the capability to support security operations in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region. This will allow the RCN to support sister agencies like Transport Canada, the Canadian Border Services Agency, and the Canadian Coast Guard in executing their mandates.
Security patrols, search and rescue, drug interdiction; all are potential roles the FASST-V could support in the future, along with sovereignty patrols in areas that other vessels in the RCN will struggle to operate in, such as the Inside Passage.
To help support that, the FASST-V will have both improved seakeeping ability and a larger twelve-day endurance requirement compared to the Orca 1.0. This will allow them to not only support longer training exercises, giving recruits more sustained days at sea, but also give them the ability to actually support sovereignty patrols over an extended area of operations.
Basic sensors are what's being discussed now. There seems to be some debate on what kind these vessels will utilize; there might be some room for collaboration with the CCG or such on commonality. That's just me thinking.
Complements of at least 24 with minimal crewing requirements, just as the Orca 1.0. The vessels are also being designed with modularity in mind, primarily to support the rapid cycling and integrating of training infrastructure and modules. No requirements have been set so far for space or such. Future FASST-V could, maybe, support payloads for various security tasks and autonomous systems.
It is hard to say the extent at this point in time, obviously. We will see. However, again, these need to be able to shift from the training to the security role rapidly, without extensive modification; so, I expect modularity to play a heavy role.
They also need to be able to be maintained across the various Naval Reserves they will be based at. That means that a complex vessel, likely with complex systems and equipment, is not desired. Simple, affordable mass. Cheap and expendable platforms able to support a number of support and low-intensity tasks from the Great Lakes up to the Arctic edge.
The RFI should be dropping in the next few weeks, or sooner. We reported on that before. The RFP and award are scheduled for 2028, while IOC is set for 2030. Current estimates for the price tag hover around $1–1.6 billion; a substantial contract for any of the medium yards in the lower echelon of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
FASST-V is coming together fast, and as always, this is still subject to change. Even after an RFI is released, which should be reminded, things can shift and change. It is always good to remember that. First delivery in 2029/2030 seems plausible at this moment. Three to four years... what a massive turnaround.
As more info comes out, we will update as we do the CDC infobox. Consider this the quick rundown on the platform ahead of the RFI dropping. I don't see too much changing from the present. This feels like the right set of requirements. I should note this isn't a Kingston replacement, and that they will operate first and primarily as training vessels.
As such, don't expect much grandeur out of them, nor significant capabilities. That's okay, of course; even in the present, they will still provide a highly versatile, cheap, expansive fleet that can take some of the pressure off vessels like CDC and the CCG fleet while providing a significant upscale of our Maritime Domain Awareness assets.
Hopefully, those numbers aim for the higher over the lower here. That would be nice.