A number of experts have expressed concerns that Canada's future submarines will be unable to operate under ice for extended periods despite the manufacturer's claims, local newspaper The Hill Times has reported.
Adam Lajeunesse, a professor and maritime security expert at St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, said that it remains unclear whether the diesel-electric submarines proposed by Germany's TKMS for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) will have adequate ice surfacing capability.
Lajeunesse said that ice surfacing capability is essential for a submarine built for Arctic conditions. In particular, a submarine operating under ice must be able to surface quickly in an emergency.
The professor added that the future RCN submarines would be more suited for "ice edge" operation, as the service had never considered conducting extended patrols underneath ice.
Lajeunesse remarked that the submarines may be deployed to patrol northern chokepoints, performing surveillance only along critical areas rather than all across the Arctic.
Rob Huebert, an Arctic security expert at the University of Calgary, gave a similar observation, saying that deployment at a chokepoint would enable Canada to block an attempt by a Russian or Chinese submarine to enter those same waters.
However, he said it is uncertain whether a diesel-electric submarine would possess the endurance necessary for pursuing an adversary through ice-covered waters.
Retired RCN Captain Norman Jolin, whose 37 years of service also included stints aboard Canadian and British submarines, criticised TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard's claim that the boats to be built for Canada are "Arctic proven."
Jolin was part of the team that had worked with South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean as part of the RCN submarine selection tender.
Hanwha Ocean had also been shortlisted for the tender but ultimately lost out to TKMS.
Jolin said that TKMS' proposed RCN submarine cannot be considered "Arctic proven" as the design itself is untested. Although he acknowledged that the TKMS submarine, "can go under ice," its operating range and endurance would be limited.
He also raised uncertainty about the Northwest Passage, the submarines' intended area of operations, as some portions of it have not yet been adequately mapped due to their shallow depths.
