WI Canada retains CV capability?
- Thread starter RogueBeaver
- Start date
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Ming777
Monthly Donor
Very minor nitpick, but iirc, there were 80 (79+1 held in US) Tomcats delivered to Canada, what happened to the missing two?
Hmm, they could possibly be spares, or perhaps they were written off in acidents?
1988 - The first part of the year was taken up by the debate over the submarines. The Americans' decision to not allow the sale of the straight Trafalgar design had infuriated both nations, and had even caused more than a little bit of friction between Thatcher and Reagan, though Reagan rather liked the idea of Canadian SSNs being out there able to back up American subs.
But that fight wasn't over. In February 1988, the Canadian Submarine Consortium released an initial plan for a Trafalgar-class SSN with two ten-foot hull stretches, one front and one aft, and a heavy-water reactor, a scaled-down version of Canada's CANDU design. This, along with the idea of Canadian designed systems, came to be considered a prominent option. The liberals weren't really very keen on the nuclear subs, but the NDP changed tune on it. It seemed that the Trafalgar ban by the US had backfired dramatically. The front hull stretch allowed for eight vertical launch cells, an idea stolen from the newer Los Angeles class SSNs.
On August 15, 1988, the Canadian Forces announced that they would go with the design, now named the Superior class, for one initial submarine, to see how the design worked. The Brits, pleased that their design had gone through, approved the same of the base Trafalgar class design, and supplied all of the systems needed. The Americans, wanting to save face, had no issues supplying the Mark 36 VLS system for the subs. The 300-foot-long, 5,820-ton submarine was the largest submarines ever operated by Canada. The keel of the sub was laid down at the Canadian Shipbuilding shipyard in Montreal, Quebec on January 10, 1989, with the sub scheduled for mid-1991 delivery.
That year, the first Halifax-class frigate rolled out of dry dock at MIL-Davie and headed into intensive training. This was watched closely by the Americans and others, who found the design's characteristics quite impressive. Far from a single-role ASW design some had figured it would be, the design, with its Harpoon AShM missiles, Sea Sparrow SAMs and other systems, was a real multi-role platform, and a big step up from the destroyer escorts it was going to replace.
That year, the Air Command, which had been agitating for some plans of its own, made a formal request the House of Commons to buy a number of Airborne Radar aircraft, pointing out that these had become absolutely critical to the effective defense of Canada's skies and as part of Canada's NORAD operation. With the sub program underway and the frigate program in testing, the Air Command, against its own expectations, was cleared to make its formal request for bids on September 27, 1988.
Politically, Mulroney led what was becoming known as "The Big Blue Machine" to its record fourth-straight majority government in the elections, held on November 18, 1988. The government's seat count grew to 159 out of 295, but the stunning ascender was the NDP, which swelled its count from 41 to 55, while the Liberals were the losers, sinking from 91 seats to 81 and leading some to figure that the 1990s would see the NDP replace the Liberals as the primary opposition. That loss of support saw Liberal leader John Turner be sacked on February 17, 1989.
1989 - The Halifax-class frigate, despite being an all-new design, was being found to be a very satisfactory vessel indeed. It boasted lower radar and thermal signatures and was a better seaboat than its predecessors, and possessed much more armament, and to the surprise of most, even came in under its projected $275 million CAD cost. Impressed by the results and ready to move with the project, the Canadian Forces commissioned HMCS Halifax in her namesake city on August 3, 1989. Halifax joined its first battle group six days later, when she sailed out with Eagle on a North Atlantic deployment. The Second, Third and Fourth vessels of the class - Vancouver, Ville de Quebec and Toronto - were by the year under construction.
Another big deal that surprised most was the decision to change many of the ranks, insignia and uniforms. The Maritime Command in particular had been agitating for a change in this regard, wanting to return to its blue uniforms and ranks. On July 25, 1989, they got their wish, when Secretary of Defense Bill McKnight announced the return of many of the pre-unification insignia, ranks and uniforms, to be instituted through 1989 and 1990.
For the air command, the AWACS project went into high-gear. The first RFI came from the United States, which offered Canada the E-3B Sentry, though Israel, in its first attempt to sell military gear to Canada, offered to fit one of its Phalcon systems in a Canadian aircraft. While other proposals would come in, these two were considered the prime candidates.
Israel's proposal was to install the Phalcon system in an airliner, but the proposal Israel produced was to have the work done in Canada - a key advantage over the American proposal. The Israeli system, which had recently begun service for the IDF, was a system which did not use a radome and didn't need a large aircraft as the E-3 did. One Israeli proposal was to install it in a Bombardier private jet.
Circumstances played into this one as well. The merger of Wardair with Canadian Airlines in March 1989 left Canadian Airlines with surplus aircraft, including ten almost brand new Airbus A310s. The Forces decided to purchase the A310s, and assigned six of them to be the planes to install the Israeli AWACS systems in. The deal was confirmed to the Media on November 17, 1989, and yhe first was delivered to the Bombardier facility at Downsview, Ontario, for the work to begin on April 25, 1990. The Phalcon systems, which cost $240 million a pop, were expensive but were considered to be worth it, especially since the upgrade and rebuild modifications, and the design of many control systems for the upgraded A310s, were providing employment to almost 6,000 Canadians.
1989 for HMCS Eagle was taken up for the first part by a refit that gave it a new electrical distribution system that allowed greater control of power movement, and upgraded electrical generators. Fitted as such and with one its new escorts in tow, Eagle left Halifax on August 9, 1989, for a NATO exercise in the Carribbean. Eagle arrived at Kingston, Jamaica, on August 18 and was visited by the Jamaican Prime Minister along with other dignitaries, before sailing out to begin the exercise on the evening of August 19. The next morning, HMCS Newfoundland picked up a pair of vessels moving very rapidly on the water, headed for the United States. Newfoundland requested the vessels identify themselves, and when they didn't respond, dispatched its Sea King to track it down. The helicopter noted that the vessels looked to be lengthened speedboats, so-called "gofast" boats commonly used by drug smugglers. Realizing this, HMCS Halifax and two Sea Kings, one form the Halifax and the other from HMCS Terra Nova, chased the boats down. One of the men on the boats fired on the helicopter, and a crewman on the Sea King shot back, disabling the boat. A boarding crew from HMCS Newfoundland boarded the vessel, discovering over 1300 pounds of cocaine in the vessel's hull.
The "Takedown on the High Seas" got a lot of press, both in Canada and the United States. The crew of the helicopter from Terra Nova was awarded a Citation for their work, and the supporters of the much-grown forces got to claim a point, showing that the Canadian Forces could do job other than fight wars.
The NATO exercise had a surprise for Eagle - its sister, HMS Ark Royal, which recommissioned in Britain on March 29, 1989 after an extensive five-year refit, was in it. The Brits had also bought Hornets for air defense, but the real sledgehammer for the carrier was a number of navalized Panavia Tornado attack aircraft, which clearly had the edge on Eagle's much-smaller CF-187 Corsair attack fighters. Canuck ASW work still topped all, as one of Eagle's CP-121 Trackers caught and shot at brand-new British nuclear sub HMS Trenchant and also picked off American sub USS Houston, with the observers both noting that the subs had done nothing wrong - the Canucks knew their business.
1990 - A good year for the Forces began, sadly, with a tragedy. On January 23, 1990, A CF-184 Hornet on maneuvers suffered a massive engine failure as it exercised over Edmonton, Alberta, causing it to plummet into a residential neighborhood. Both crewmen ejected safely, but the crashing plane landed in the yard of an elementary school, killing nine school children. The investigation crash was caused when one of the Pratt and Whitney engines flamed out, causing the pilot to lose control of his aircraft.
The Forces, which had been studying the upgrades made to US Navy F-14s, asked the government to get the funds to replace the Pratt and Whitney engines. After the disaster in Edmonton, the order was quickly approved. The first Canuck Tomcat to get the new General Electric engines was refitted in July 1990, and all of the aircraft would cycle through the process in 1990 and 1991.
Late in the year, the news for the Forces was dominated by the initial launch of HMCS Superior, Canada's first nuclear sub. The sub was launched on October 26, 1990, though it was not ready for delivery until April 1991. At a cost of $1.1 Billion to be completed, the nuclear-powered sub was the most expensive vessel the Canadian Forces had ever purchased. The high cost of the vessels led to the plan for six such subs to be scrapped - they were simply too expensive. The plan was officially narrowed to three in November 1990, though the Forces amended the plan in 1991 to plan for six to eight SSKs to complement the nuclear boats.
The second of the Halifax-class frigates, HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) was launched on December 10, 1990, though it still needed fitting out. But as the class was quite effective at its job, the government in November 1990 made the decision to build two more of the Halifax class frigates, Regina and Calgary. The success of the Navy during the Gulf War would ensure that the full fleet of Halifax-class vessels was built.
Gulf War (August 2, 1990 - February 28, 1991) - After years of tension, Iraq invaded its small neighbor Kuwait on August 2, 1990, kicking off the first Gulf War. The Iraqi initial victory was very swift, and so was an American response. On August 7, the Americans began moving forces into Saudi Arabia to protect against an Iraqi attack into Saudi territory. Canada quickly followed suit, and deployed HMCS Eagle in her first real conflict since the violence on Cyprus in 1977. Eagle and its battle group - including escorts Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Huron, Halifax and Terra Nova and supply ships Protecteur and Provider - arrived on station in the Red Sea on September 16, 1990, having also escorted four of the United States' eight fast sealift ships from the Mid-Atlantic all the way to Saudi Arabia. The 1st Canadian Mechanized Group was also deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of the buildup.
The war began in earnest on January 15, 1991, with Operation Instant Thunder. The Canadian Forces joined in the massive bombing of Iraq's infrastructure, and a Canadian Forces Hornet shot down two Iraqi fighters trying to engage coalition forces. This same battle saw Canada's first aircraft loss, a Hornet hit by an Iraqi SAM. The Canadian contingent also proved effective in land combat, the Iraqi's Soviet tank fleet being little match for the Canadian Leopard C1s and their 105mm guns, not to mention far better training. But the Leos were outgunned by the American M1 Abrams, leading many Canuck commanders to mutter about "if we had those Abrams....." The land forces, however, held their own.
A Canadian Forces' CF-187 was shot down over Khafji on January 29 while trying to attack Iraqi positions in Khafji, one of only three aircraft losses suffered by the Forces in the Gulf War. The raid was successful, but a Iraqi SAM struck the aircraft from behind on its way out. The Princess Patricia's Light Infantry joined the US Marine Corps and Saudi, British and Kuwaiti forces on the battle into Kuwait on February 23, the Patricia's armored group also getting a piece of the action, killing nineteen Iraqi tanks while taking two losses. Canadian Troops also assisted the French forces during the Attack into Iraq itself on February 24th, helping secure the force's left flank. Iraq was defeated on February 28th, when a cease-fire was declared.
The Canadian Forces suffered 23 dead and 55 wounded, smaller numbers than what was lost in Turkey against a much stronger foe. Canadian public opinion, already moderately pro-military to begin with, grew stronger as time went on. The troops began arriving home in March 1991, to considerable fanfare. The Infantry's arrive-home ceremonies included a parade through Halifax, which was met by almost 25,000 supporters. Saudi Arabia paid Canada a $2.1 Billion sum for its actions during the war, though this was not demanded by Canada. HMCS Eagle and her battle group arrived in Halifax on April 25, 1991, to a crowd of nearly 40,000 people.
But that fight wasn't over. In February 1988, the Canadian Submarine Consortium released an initial plan for a Trafalgar-class SSN with two ten-foot hull stretches, one front and one aft, and a heavy-water reactor, a scaled-down version of Canada's CANDU design. This, along with the idea of Canadian designed systems, came to be considered a prominent option. The liberals weren't really very keen on the nuclear subs, but the NDP changed tune on it. It seemed that the Trafalgar ban by the US had backfired dramatically. The front hull stretch allowed for eight vertical launch cells, an idea stolen from the newer Los Angeles class SSNs.
On August 15, 1988, the Canadian Forces announced that they would go with the design, now named the Superior class, for one initial submarine, to see how the design worked. The Brits, pleased that their design had gone through, approved the same of the base Trafalgar class design, and supplied all of the systems needed. The Americans, wanting to save face, had no issues supplying the Mark 36 VLS system for the subs. The 300-foot-long, 5,820-ton submarine was the largest submarines ever operated by Canada. The keel of the sub was laid down at the Canadian Shipbuilding shipyard in Montreal, Quebec on January 10, 1989, with the sub scheduled for mid-1991 delivery.
That year, the first Halifax-class frigate rolled out of dry dock at MIL-Davie and headed into intensive training. This was watched closely by the Americans and others, who found the design's characteristics quite impressive. Far from a single-role ASW design some had figured it would be, the design, with its Harpoon AShM missiles, Sea Sparrow SAMs and other systems, was a real multi-role platform, and a big step up from the destroyer escorts it was going to replace.
That year, the Air Command, which had been agitating for some plans of its own, made a formal request the House of Commons to buy a number of Airborne Radar aircraft, pointing out that these had become absolutely critical to the effective defense of Canada's skies and as part of Canada's NORAD operation. With the sub program underway and the frigate program in testing, the Air Command, against its own expectations, was cleared to make its formal request for bids on September 27, 1988.
Politically, Mulroney led what was becoming known as "The Big Blue Machine" to its record fourth-straight majority government in the elections, held on November 18, 1988. The government's seat count grew to 159 out of 295, but the stunning ascender was the NDP, which swelled its count from 41 to 55, while the Liberals were the losers, sinking from 91 seats to 81 and leading some to figure that the 1990s would see the NDP replace the Liberals as the primary opposition. That loss of support saw Liberal leader John Turner be sacked on February 17, 1989.
1989 - The Halifax-class frigate, despite being an all-new design, was being found to be a very satisfactory vessel indeed. It boasted lower radar and thermal signatures and was a better seaboat than its predecessors, and possessed much more armament, and to the surprise of most, even came in under its projected $275 million CAD cost. Impressed by the results and ready to move with the project, the Canadian Forces commissioned HMCS Halifax in her namesake city on August 3, 1989. Halifax joined its first battle group six days later, when she sailed out with Eagle on a North Atlantic deployment. The Second, Third and Fourth vessels of the class - Vancouver, Ville de Quebec and Toronto - were by the year under construction.
Another big deal that surprised most was the decision to change many of the ranks, insignia and uniforms. The Maritime Command in particular had been agitating for a change in this regard, wanting to return to its blue uniforms and ranks. On July 25, 1989, they got their wish, when Secretary of Defense Bill McKnight announced the return of many of the pre-unification insignia, ranks and uniforms, to be instituted through 1989 and 1990.
For the air command, the AWACS project went into high-gear. The first RFI came from the United States, which offered Canada the E-3B Sentry, though Israel, in its first attempt to sell military gear to Canada, offered to fit one of its Phalcon systems in a Canadian aircraft. While other proposals would come in, these two were considered the prime candidates.
Israel's proposal was to install the Phalcon system in an airliner, but the proposal Israel produced was to have the work done in Canada - a key advantage over the American proposal. The Israeli system, which had recently begun service for the IDF, was a system which did not use a radome and didn't need a large aircraft as the E-3 did. One Israeli proposal was to install it in a Bombardier private jet.
Circumstances played into this one as well. The merger of Wardair with Canadian Airlines in March 1989 left Canadian Airlines with surplus aircraft, including ten almost brand new Airbus A310s. The Forces decided to purchase the A310s, and assigned six of them to be the planes to install the Israeli AWACS systems in. The deal was confirmed to the Media on November 17, 1989, and yhe first was delivered to the Bombardier facility at Downsview, Ontario, for the work to begin on April 25, 1990. The Phalcon systems, which cost $240 million a pop, were expensive but were considered to be worth it, especially since the upgrade and rebuild modifications, and the design of many control systems for the upgraded A310s, were providing employment to almost 6,000 Canadians.
1989 for HMCS Eagle was taken up for the first part by a refit that gave it a new electrical distribution system that allowed greater control of power movement, and upgraded electrical generators. Fitted as such and with one its new escorts in tow, Eagle left Halifax on August 9, 1989, for a NATO exercise in the Carribbean. Eagle arrived at Kingston, Jamaica, on August 18 and was visited by the Jamaican Prime Minister along with other dignitaries, before sailing out to begin the exercise on the evening of August 19. The next morning, HMCS Newfoundland picked up a pair of vessels moving very rapidly on the water, headed for the United States. Newfoundland requested the vessels identify themselves, and when they didn't respond, dispatched its Sea King to track it down. The helicopter noted that the vessels looked to be lengthened speedboats, so-called "gofast" boats commonly used by drug smugglers. Realizing this, HMCS Halifax and two Sea Kings, one form the Halifax and the other from HMCS Terra Nova, chased the boats down. One of the men on the boats fired on the helicopter, and a crewman on the Sea King shot back, disabling the boat. A boarding crew from HMCS Newfoundland boarded the vessel, discovering over 1300 pounds of cocaine in the vessel's hull.
The "Takedown on the High Seas" got a lot of press, both in Canada and the United States. The crew of the helicopter from Terra Nova was awarded a Citation for their work, and the supporters of the much-grown forces got to claim a point, showing that the Canadian Forces could do job other than fight wars.
The NATO exercise had a surprise for Eagle - its sister, HMS Ark Royal, which recommissioned in Britain on March 29, 1989 after an extensive five-year refit, was in it. The Brits had also bought Hornets for air defense, but the real sledgehammer for the carrier was a number of navalized Panavia Tornado attack aircraft, which clearly had the edge on Eagle's much-smaller CF-187 Corsair attack fighters. Canuck ASW work still topped all, as one of Eagle's CP-121 Trackers caught and shot at brand-new British nuclear sub HMS Trenchant and also picked off American sub USS Houston, with the observers both noting that the subs had done nothing wrong - the Canucks knew their business.
1990 - A good year for the Forces began, sadly, with a tragedy. On January 23, 1990, A CF-184 Hornet on maneuvers suffered a massive engine failure as it exercised over Edmonton, Alberta, causing it to plummet into a residential neighborhood. Both crewmen ejected safely, but the crashing plane landed in the yard of an elementary school, killing nine school children. The investigation crash was caused when one of the Pratt and Whitney engines flamed out, causing the pilot to lose control of his aircraft.
The Forces, which had been studying the upgrades made to US Navy F-14s, asked the government to get the funds to replace the Pratt and Whitney engines. After the disaster in Edmonton, the order was quickly approved. The first Canuck Tomcat to get the new General Electric engines was refitted in July 1990, and all of the aircraft would cycle through the process in 1990 and 1991.
Late in the year, the news for the Forces was dominated by the initial launch of HMCS Superior, Canada's first nuclear sub. The sub was launched on October 26, 1990, though it was not ready for delivery until April 1991. At a cost of $1.1 Billion to be completed, the nuclear-powered sub was the most expensive vessel the Canadian Forces had ever purchased. The high cost of the vessels led to the plan for six such subs to be scrapped - they were simply too expensive. The plan was officially narrowed to three in November 1990, though the Forces amended the plan in 1991 to plan for six to eight SSKs to complement the nuclear boats.
The second of the Halifax-class frigates, HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) was launched on December 10, 1990, though it still needed fitting out. But as the class was quite effective at its job, the government in November 1990 made the decision to build two more of the Halifax class frigates, Regina and Calgary. The success of the Navy during the Gulf War would ensure that the full fleet of Halifax-class vessels was built.
Gulf War (August 2, 1990 - February 28, 1991) - After years of tension, Iraq invaded its small neighbor Kuwait on August 2, 1990, kicking off the first Gulf War. The Iraqi initial victory was very swift, and so was an American response. On August 7, the Americans began moving forces into Saudi Arabia to protect against an Iraqi attack into Saudi territory. Canada quickly followed suit, and deployed HMCS Eagle in her first real conflict since the violence on Cyprus in 1977. Eagle and its battle group - including escorts Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Huron, Halifax and Terra Nova and supply ships Protecteur and Provider - arrived on station in the Red Sea on September 16, 1990, having also escorted four of the United States' eight fast sealift ships from the Mid-Atlantic all the way to Saudi Arabia. The 1st Canadian Mechanized Group was also deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of the buildup.
The war began in earnest on January 15, 1991, with Operation Instant Thunder. The Canadian Forces joined in the massive bombing of Iraq's infrastructure, and a Canadian Forces Hornet shot down two Iraqi fighters trying to engage coalition forces. This same battle saw Canada's first aircraft loss, a Hornet hit by an Iraqi SAM. The Canadian contingent also proved effective in land combat, the Iraqi's Soviet tank fleet being little match for the Canadian Leopard C1s and their 105mm guns, not to mention far better training. But the Leos were outgunned by the American M1 Abrams, leading many Canuck commanders to mutter about "if we had those Abrams....." The land forces, however, held their own.
A Canadian Forces' CF-187 was shot down over Khafji on January 29 while trying to attack Iraqi positions in Khafji, one of only three aircraft losses suffered by the Forces in the Gulf War. The raid was successful, but a Iraqi SAM struck the aircraft from behind on its way out. The Princess Patricia's Light Infantry joined the US Marine Corps and Saudi, British and Kuwaiti forces on the battle into Kuwait on February 23, the Patricia's armored group also getting a piece of the action, killing nineteen Iraqi tanks while taking two losses. Canadian Troops also assisted the French forces during the Attack into Iraq itself on February 24th, helping secure the force's left flank. Iraq was defeated on February 28th, when a cease-fire was declared.
The Canadian Forces suffered 23 dead and 55 wounded, smaller numbers than what was lost in Turkey against a much stronger foe. Canadian public opinion, already moderately pro-military to begin with, grew stronger as time went on. The troops began arriving home in March 1991, to considerable fanfare. The Infantry's arrive-home ceremonies included a parade through Halifax, which was met by almost 25,000 supporters. Saudi Arabia paid Canada a $2.1 Billion sum for its actions during the war, though this was not demanded by Canada. HMCS Eagle and her battle group arrived in Halifax on April 25, 1991, to a crowd of nearly 40,000 people.
You nailed it with the second option. Canada has lost 16 Hornets since 1988 IRL. Crashes happen, and generally you can't repair an aircraft that's been crashed, ya know.
I hadn't thought of this idea, but you know, I might have to steal it for the Marine Corps. I've been thinking on how to make a real Canadian Marine Corps and have it be halfway effective early on, but this might do it. I'm also planning out a Canadian SAS - none of this "Joint Task Force Two" bullshit. (Not that JTF2 ain't effective - just Canadian SAS sounds more menacing.)
Would it be SAS or the the 1st Special Service Force?
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=feature/italy99/backgrounders/special
Just to maintain linages better.
Suprised Expo 86 or the Olympics in 88 didn't play a role but that might be in part due to the changes in security perception/needs for modern Olympics.
Keep it up...excellent read so far.
1991 - Even with the Gulf War raging, the Canadian Forces are still making progress. The first big deals of the year happen within five days of each other, the first deals in a year that would wind up being full of them.
The first was the commissioning of Canada's second Halifax-class frigate, HMCS Vancouver, which is commissioned in Montreal on February 15, 1991. Vancouver is the second of the highly-impressive class of warships, which was at that point doing impressively well with its work in the Red Sea. Vancouver immediately heads out, along with Alberta, Newfoundland, Iroquois and Terry Fox, to relieve the vessels on station in the Red Sea, but the ships are just past Italy when they receive news of the end of the War, and return home escorting the ships of other nations on the way.
Five days later, the first CC-150AEW "Polaris" rolls out of the workshop at Downsview. All six of the AEW aircraft ordered are completed in 1991, and the squadron stands-to on November 19, 1991. The six aircraft, operated by 455 Squadron, are based at CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, through they frequently move around the country and around the world as circumstances require them to.
The Gulf War taught a number of lessons to the Forces, both good and bad. The good was that the Forces' training was both well-done and useful. The Forces did well with its Leopard C1 tanks, though it was clear they needed to get something better in that regard - they had been dramatically outgunned by American M1 Abrams and British Challenger 1 tanks. The effectiveness of the Iraqi SAMs was a surprise to the Canadians, and convinced them to get a system of their own. The September 1991 display of Oerlikon's ADATS project shows the Canucks exactly what they are looking for. Also learned was the usefulness of fast sealift ships such as the American Fast Sealift Ships, and that the Navy needed more dedicated supply ships if the force was to be sustained a long ways from home.
The final CF-184 to get its new engines is returned to the CF in June 1991, though many of its pilots are visibly sad that they did not get to take on the Iraqis in the Gulf War, and the Air Command makes a request to test the Tomcat on HMCS Eagle. This happens in late 1991, and while Eagle proves to be able to handle the big interceptor, it is deemed too large to be well-suited for the carrier.
On April 27, 1991, the Mulroney Government shows off its plan for a major military rework for the 1990s. The plan, a heavily amended version of the plan showed off in 1983, includes a number of major changes, and also lays out a large set of procurements for the 1990s:
- Eight Halifax-class frigates, to make a total of fourteen;
- An Amphibious Assault Ship;
- A fast sealift ship;
- Six to Eight support ships;
- Several cheaper diesel-electric submarines, to complement the small number of nuclear submarines;
- A replacement for the CH-124 Sea King anti-submarine Helicopter fleet;
- A mobile surface to air missile system;
- A new main battle tank to replace the Leopard C1;
- A dedicated attack aircraft, to assist in close air support and destroying tanks;
- Additional transport aircraft, to allow fast movement of goods and troops;
- Additional commercial off the shelf helicopters, for transport purposes;
- A replacement for the aging CC-137s being used for aerial refueling and transport purposes;
- An aircraft for conducting sovereignty patrols over the Arctic;
- New utility transport vehicles, to replace the expensive Volkswagen Iltis in utility duties.
Also included in this is a growth of the Canadian Forces' highly mobile units, able to deploy all over the world for both civilian and military purposes. One of the plans is to return the Black Watch, the legendary Highlanders, back to being an active unit. By the end of the year, the RFIs for the programs were going out, and companies around the world were responding......
The first was the commissioning of Canada's second Halifax-class frigate, HMCS Vancouver, which is commissioned in Montreal on February 15, 1991. Vancouver is the second of the highly-impressive class of warships, which was at that point doing impressively well with its work in the Red Sea. Vancouver immediately heads out, along with Alberta, Newfoundland, Iroquois and Terry Fox, to relieve the vessels on station in the Red Sea, but the ships are just past Italy when they receive news of the end of the War, and return home escorting the ships of other nations on the way.
Five days later, the first CC-150AEW "Polaris" rolls out of the workshop at Downsview. All six of the AEW aircraft ordered are completed in 1991, and the squadron stands-to on November 19, 1991. The six aircraft, operated by 455 Squadron, are based at CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, through they frequently move around the country and around the world as circumstances require them to.
The Gulf War taught a number of lessons to the Forces, both good and bad. The good was that the Forces' training was both well-done and useful. The Forces did well with its Leopard C1 tanks, though it was clear they needed to get something better in that regard - they had been dramatically outgunned by American M1 Abrams and British Challenger 1 tanks. The effectiveness of the Iraqi SAMs was a surprise to the Canadians, and convinced them to get a system of their own. The September 1991 display of Oerlikon's ADATS project shows the Canucks exactly what they are looking for. Also learned was the usefulness of fast sealift ships such as the American Fast Sealift Ships, and that the Navy needed more dedicated supply ships if the force was to be sustained a long ways from home.
The final CF-184 to get its new engines is returned to the CF in June 1991, though many of its pilots are visibly sad that they did not get to take on the Iraqis in the Gulf War, and the Air Command makes a request to test the Tomcat on HMCS Eagle. This happens in late 1991, and while Eagle proves to be able to handle the big interceptor, it is deemed too large to be well-suited for the carrier.
On April 27, 1991, the Mulroney Government shows off its plan for a major military rework for the 1990s. The plan, a heavily amended version of the plan showed off in 1983, includes a number of major changes, and also lays out a large set of procurements for the 1990s:
- Eight Halifax-class frigates, to make a total of fourteen;
- An Amphibious Assault Ship;
- A fast sealift ship;
- Six to Eight support ships;
- Several cheaper diesel-electric submarines, to complement the small number of nuclear submarines;
- A replacement for the CH-124 Sea King anti-submarine Helicopter fleet;
- A mobile surface to air missile system;
- A new main battle tank to replace the Leopard C1;
- A dedicated attack aircraft, to assist in close air support and destroying tanks;
- Additional transport aircraft, to allow fast movement of goods and troops;
- Additional commercial off the shelf helicopters, for transport purposes;
- A replacement for the aging CC-137s being used for aerial refueling and transport purposes;
- An aircraft for conducting sovereignty patrols over the Arctic;
- New utility transport vehicles, to replace the expensive Volkswagen Iltis in utility duties.
Also included in this is a growth of the Canadian Forces' highly mobile units, able to deploy all over the world for both civilian and military purposes. One of the plans is to return the Black Watch, the legendary Highlanders, back to being an active unit. By the end of the year, the RFIs for the programs were going out, and companies around the world were responding......
Suppose it's a plan. In my TL I just had Britain maintain two commando brigades with Canada and Australia each maintaining one. Together they formed a division - a sort of Commonwealth apid reaction corps. Nationality was never an issue. By the 1980's, many servicemen from many different nations serve intermixed in the various commonwealth (only really Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) armed forces.
Funny, I also had a Canadian SAS for the same reason - it sounds good.
So what does this mean in general for the rest of NATO? The somewhat massive Canadian military buildup is going to have a knock-on effect elsewhere, especially in Britain. I doubt that the U.K. would be willing to be outclassed by a nation that was until fairly recently, subordinate to it.
Also, what of this Anglo-Canadian technology sharing? Certainly America may be getting a large share of the imput too but Britain has certainly been a big contributer.
How is all of this affecting their relations?
Riain
Banned
You nailed it with the second option. Canada has lost 16 Hornets since 1988 IRL. Crashes happen, and generally you can't repair an aircraft that's been crashed, ya know.
Wow, we've only lost 4 since 1985! Don't Hornets like the cold or something?
Indeed, it does.
The UK isn't outclassed by Canada in any stretch. Here, after seeing how good Eagle is and that an old warhorse can be made a monster again, did order Eagle's sister ship (HMS Ark Royal) in for a rebuild of its own. Britain has a angled-deck CV now, and has Hornets like Canada, as well as a naval variant of the Tornado. Britain has nuclear weaponss, a fleet of SSNs (Canada is only buying three) and an army that is twice as large. NATO I would imagine is quite happy to see the Canucks powering up, it's more resources in the event of a fight.
At the height of the Cold War, both the United States and Britain rather like having a powerful Canada, because they know, especially after proving the point in Cyprus and Iraq, that the Canucks are no pushovers. In the 1990s IRL, the Canadian Forces sank to such a point that the Americans and British wrote off the Canadian Forces as being unable or unwilling to carry weight, a perception that only got smoked when Canada went into the fight in Afghanistan with eyes wide open. Here, that's somewhat different, of course. I don't imagine a much stronger Canadian Forces will be anything but a positive for relations between Canada and NATO.
Kangeroos might be better mechanics than caribou. They have pouches to carry tools, plus the caribou horns can get in the way.
Of course, this joke falls flat if Riain isn't in Australia.
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