Irving Shipbuilding has laid the keel of the lead ship of a new class of destroyers slated for the Royal Canadian Navy.
HMCS Fraser will belong to the River-class destroyers, which are being built as variants of BAE Systems' Type 26 warship. Variants of the ships are also being constructed as frigates for the UK Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy, under which they will be officially known as the City-class and the Hunter-class, respectively.
The official NATO ship designator for the Royal Canadian Navy's River-class warships will be DDGH – a destroyer (DD), guided (G) missile, helicopter (H) capable.
The new DDGHs will replace both the Iroquois-class destroyers and the Halifax-class frigates in Canadian service.
Full rate production of the River-class is underway at Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax facilities in Nova Scotia. Fraser's delivery is scheduled for the early 2030s while the 15th and final ship will be handed over by 2050.
The River-class ships will each have a length of 151 metres, a beam of 21 metres, a displacement of 8,000 tonnes, a combined diesel-electric or gas propulsion arrangement, and a crew complement of 210. Armament on each ship will include a 127mm naval gun, two 30mm autocannons, surface-to-air missiles, surface-to-surface missiles, and torpedoes.
A flight deck will be available for use by a CH-148 Cyclone anti-submarine helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicles.