The Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP) is intended to replace Canada’s Victoria-class fleet with up to 12 modern submarines, creating a long-term requirement for the people, organisations and industrial capabilities needed to support those platforms throughout their lifecycle.
As Canada advances its plans for a new generation of submarines, BMT has launched a domain-intensive learning initiative designed to build awareness, knowledge and interest in the specialist skills required to support the country's future submarine capability.
Delivered by BMT specialists, the in-person, expert-led submarine course provides an introduction to submarine systems, operations and sustainment, as well as the broad range of disciplines that contribute to an effective and enduring underwater capability.
Platforms are central to future capability, however their long-term effectiveness depends equally on the people, industrial capacity and shared technical understanding required to acquire, operate, maintain and modernise them over decades of service.
The initiative comes at an important time for Canada's submarine enterprise. Much of the country's existing submarine expertise is engaged in supporting the Victoria-class fleet, creating a need to develop additional submarine knowledge and expertise to support the potential growth of Canada's future submarine fleet.
Submarines are among the most complex engineering systems in service today. Supporting them requires expertise across a wide range of disciplines, including naval architecture, marine and mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, systems engineering, software and cybersecurity, logistics and sustainment, safety and assurance, project management, technical maintenance and support, and training and operational readiness.
BMT has supported complex maritime and defence programmes across Canada and North America, the United Kingdom and the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, spanning submarine design, engineering, sustainment, safety and through-life support.
Emily Spurling, Regional Business Development Director, North America, BMT, said, "New submarines alone will not deliver capability; capability comes from people, knowledge and experience. As Canada prepares for its next generation of submarines, we have an opportunity to inspire interest, share knowledge and help develop the skills needed across government, industry and the supply chain. This course is designed to contribute to that long-term effort."
The need to develop people and knowledge alongside platforms is also evident in allied submarine and advanced-capability programmes internationally. AUKUS – the partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States – has placed workforce development, industrial readiness and the ability to sustain increasingly complex technologies at the centre of long-term undersea capability planning.
Graeme Nayler, Regional Business Director, Asia-Pacific, BMT, said, "AUKUS demonstrates that advanced undersea capability is not defined by technology alone. It depends on whether nations can assure, integrate, operate and sustain that technology at the speed at which it is evolving.
"The lesson from the AUKUS conversation is that workforce development cannot be treated as a downstream activity. Skills, assurance, sustainment and cross-domain understanding need to develop alongside new platforms and technologies, from the earliest stages of a programme.
"Canada's future submarine enterprise has its own distinct requirements and priorities. However, there is clear value in sharing lessons across allied maritime communities – particularly as submarine programmes become more digitally connected and as uncrewed systems, data, autonomy and cyber resilience become increasingly important to the wider undersea environment."
