Not directly related to the establishment of a new reserve division in Whitehorse, but I have to ask the question that has been bothering me for a while. If you expand the Orca fleet (33m/210t) to 24 to 30 vessels, base them on both coasts as well as in the Great Lakes and Gulf of St Lawrence, what happens then? The current Orca class is designed for above zero temperatures and the calm waters of the Salish Sea. It excels in the role of teaching basic seamanship in a benign environment. If Orca 2 is anything close to the current Orcas, do you just accept parking them in the winter everywhere else but Esquimalt? What modifications do you need to operate them in the ice of the Great Lakes and the Gulf in winter? What seakeeping do you need to be able to retain new members beyond their first sea experience in Hecate Straight or the Grand Banks in the winter?
I should note that the Orca recapitalization is still unfunded and very early stages. As such there isnt a lot to go off of for what the desogn will be. There is a desire for something bigget than the Orcas, with improved seakeeping ability and endurance. Sadly there isnt much info, as there really hasnt been a lot of technical work seemingly done.
These are valid questions though when discussing operating these platforms around the Great Lakes/Lawrence and what we expect them to be able to do. That eill also go into how much of a security role they end up undetaking.
While they will primarily be training vessels, there is a noted need for the navy to have some sort of wider security presence in the Great Lakes/Lawrence and that will likely come from these. It's one of the areas I personally worry about in this regard.
So right now? We have to see where the platforms fall in terms of desired capabilities and priorities. We sadly don't know exactly what these will look like or the navies desires
From what I have gleaned from previous posts by Noah on the topic, the orca replacements are supposed to be a clean sheet design, not based on the existing orcas at all. While my understanding is that they don't yet have a firm list of requirements yet, I believe Noah mentioned some interest from the RCN in them being built larger and more capable than the current orcas. If they are serious about using them on both coasts and in the Great lakes, I'm sure they will factor their modified requirements when they start asking for bids.
Well HMCS Discovery does not even have their boat, outside of a few open topped RHIB's, so there does not seem to be a requirement for an actual marine presence. That being said, there is a lot of waterways in the region that are navigable by jetboat. Beyond recruiting for the Navy, they could develop riverine warfare doctrine that the RCN can use in the north.
That's actually a really good idea. While out navy is mostly a blue water force, that's at least partially because we are pretty complacent about opossing armed forces ever operating in Canada. Training for riverin combat, and building some creditable offensive and defensive forces on the waters of our interior has some interesting possibilities. I'm sure they would make great training opportunities for cadets and the like the rest of the time, but just having them would be a pretty big upgrade to our internal defense. I'm picturing Ridgid inflatables, but also canoes with little electric motors that can move troops across the country without relying on roads and rails... It would make a good exercise, and you could probably get some joint arms action going between the army and Navy reserves.
Not directly related to the establishment of a new reserve division in Whitehorse, but I have to ask the question that has been bothering me for a while. If you expand the Orca fleet (33m/210t) to 24 to 30 vessels, base them on both coasts as well as in the Great Lakes and Gulf of St Lawrence, what happens then? The current Orca class is designed for above zero temperatures and the calm waters of the Salish Sea. It excels in the role of teaching basic seamanship in a benign environment. If Orca 2 is anything close to the current Orcas, do you just accept parking them in the winter everywhere else but Esquimalt? What modifications do you need to operate them in the ice of the Great Lakes and the Gulf in winter? What seakeeping do you need to be able to retain new members beyond their first sea experience in Hecate Straight or the Grand Banks in the winter?
I should note that the Orca recapitalization is still unfunded and very early stages. As such there isnt a lot to go off of for what the desogn will be. There is a desire for something bigget than the Orcas, with improved seakeeping ability and endurance. Sadly there isnt much info, as there really hasnt been a lot of technical work seemingly done.
These are valid questions though when discussing operating these platforms around the Great Lakes/Lawrence and what we expect them to be able to do. That eill also go into how much of a security role they end up undetaking.
While they will primarily be training vessels, there is a noted need for the navy to have some sort of wider security presence in the Great Lakes/Lawrence and that will likely come from these. It's one of the areas I personally worry about in this regard.
So right now? We have to see where the platforms fall in terms of desired capabilities and priorities. We sadly don't know exactly what these will look like or the navies desires
From what I have gleaned from previous posts by Noah on the topic, the orca replacements are supposed to be a clean sheet design, not based on the existing orcas at all. While my understanding is that they don't yet have a firm list of requirements yet, I believe Noah mentioned some interest from the RCN in them being built larger and more capable than the current orcas. If they are serious about using them on both coasts and in the Great lakes, I'm sure they will factor their modified requirements when they start asking for bids.
Well HMCS Discovery does not even have their boat, outside of a few open topped RHIB's, so there does not seem to be a requirement for an actual marine presence. That being said, there is a lot of waterways in the region that are navigable by jetboat. Beyond recruiting for the Navy, they could develop riverine warfare doctrine that the RCN can use in the north.
That's actually a really good idea. While out navy is mostly a blue water force, that's at least partially because we are pretty complacent about opossing armed forces ever operating in Canada. Training for riverin combat, and building some creditable offensive and defensive forces on the waters of our interior has some interesting possibilities. I'm sure they would make great training opportunities for cadets and the like the rest of the time, but just having them would be a pretty big upgrade to our internal defense. I'm picturing Ridgid inflatables, but also canoes with little electric motors that can move troops across the country without relying on roads and rails... It would make a good exercise, and you could probably get some joint arms action going between the army and Navy reserves.