Royal Canadian Navy signs in-service support contract worth up to $5.2 billion CAD

The Canadian government signs a new contract with Thales for in-service support, refit, repair, maintenance and training to the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) and the Joint Support Ships (JSS).

The initial service period for the contract will last eight years for up to $800 million CAD with the option to extend it for a total 35 years, costing a value of $5.2 billion CAD. The contract is the largest in-service support contract in Canadian history, building on a 50-year relationship between the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Thales.

Previous contracts between the two groups include in-service support systems onboard Victoria-class submarines, Kingston-class maritime coastal defense vessels, Iroquois-class destroyers and Halifax-class frigates.

“Thales is committed to empowering Canadian industry to support this program for decades to come,” said Thales Country Director in Canada, Mark Halinaty. “Thales’s ISS program solution will create jobs across Canada and will ensure that the ships are mission-ready, where and when they are needed, from coast to coast to coast.”

Thales has garnered an intimate knowledge of the Canadian navy and its ships, and will utilize this in project management, systems engineering and integrated logistics support to lead the development of a new Canadian supply chain that will offer comprehensive in-service support for all systems and equipment of these fleets over their operational lifetime.

For the duration of the 35-yearlong contract, it will generate an estimated economic benefit of more than $250 million CAD in research and development for the country.

To help bring the RCN forward, Thales will bring over 16 years of performance-based in-service support experience over from working with the Royal Australian Navy. Thales has managed, maintained and upgraded the naval assets of the Australian government and its navy since 1989 at the Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney.