Halifax-class frigate
The Halifax-class frigate, also referred to as the City class, is a class of multi-role patrol frigates that have served the Royal Canadian Navy since 1992. The class is the outcome of the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project, which dates to the mid-1970s. was the first of an eventual twelve Canadian-designed and Canadian-built vessels which combine traditional anti-submarine capabilities with systems to deal with surface and air threats as well. Ships of the class are named after capital cities of Canadian provinces, the capital of Canada, Ottawa, and the major cities of Calgary, Montreal, and Vancouver.
In 2007, the Government of Canada announced a planned refit of the Halifax class which is known as the Halifax Class Modernization Project of which the Frigate Equipment Life Extension project is a part. In November 2008, a Lockheed Martin Canada-led team including Saab AB, Elisra, IBM Canada, CAE Professional Services, L-3 Electronic Systems and xwave, was awarded the contract. The construction phase of the program was completed in November 2016., the Halifax-class modernization program was being closed out, but full operational capacity was reached on 31 January 2018.
In October 2011 the Canadian government launched the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy which aims to replace the Halifax class, as well as the capabilities of the s, with up to 15 new destroyers. This replacement class is currently in full-rate production which began on 25 April 2025. However, the Halifax-class vessels continue to be upgraded with at least some ships of the class anticipated as likely to continue service into the 2040s.
Description and design
The Halifax-class frigate design, emerging from the Canadian Patrol Frigate Program, was ordered by the Canadian Forces in 1977 as a replacement for the aging,,, and es of destroyer escorts, which were all tasked with anti-submarine warfare. In July 1983, the federal government approved the budget for the design and construction of the first batch of six frigates, with a second batch ordered in December 1987. To reflect the changing long-term strategy of the Navy during the 1980s and 1990s, the Halifax-class frigates was designed as a general purpose warship with particular focus on anti-submarine capabilities.As built, the Halifax-class vessels displaced and were long overall and between perpendiculars with a beam of and a draught of. That made them slightly larger than the Iroquois-class destroyers. The vessels are propelled by two shafts with Escher Wyss controllable pitch propellers driven by a CODOG system of two General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, generating and one SEMT Pielstick 20 PA6 V 280 diesel engine, generating.
This gives the frigates a maximum speed of and a range of at while using their diesel engines. Using their gas turbines, the ships have a range of at. As designed the Halifax class had a total complement 236 personnel; 219 naval personnel of which 17 were officers and 17 aircrew of which 8 were officers. During the FELEX/HCM projects the addition of 19 berths was completed to allow embarkation of additional CTG personnel. This brought the total available crew complement to 255 persons.
Control systems
The tactical command and control systems were developed in Canada. These included the Shipboard Integrated Communications System, the Shipboard Integrated Machinery Control, and Shipboard Integrated Processing and Display System. SHINCOM was developed by DRS Technology Canada and was exported to other navies. SHINMACS was developed by CAE. SHINPADS was developed by Sperry Computer Systems in Winnipeg. with technical assistance from the United States. It used a revolutionary redundant and distributed computer architecture which was exported for use in US military control systems.Armament and aircraft
As built the Halifax-class vessels deployed the CH-124 Sea King helicopter, which acted in concert with shipboard sensors to seek out and destroy submarines at long distances from the ships. The ships have a helicopter deck fitted with a "bear trap" system allowing the launch and recovery of helicopters in up to sea state 6. The Halifax class also carries a close-in anti-submarine weapon in the form of the Mark 46 torpedo, launched from twin Mark 32 Mod 9 torpedo tubes in launcher compartments on either side of the forward end of the helicopter hangar.As built, the anti-shipping role is supported by the RGM-84 Harpoon Block 1C surface-to-surface missile, mounted in two quadruple launch tubes at the main deck level between the funnel and the helicopter hangar. For anti-aircraft self-defence the ships are armed with the Sea Sparrow vertical launch surface-to-air missile in two Mk 48 Mod 0 eight-cell launchers placed to port and starboard of the funnel. The vessels carry 16 missiles. A Raytheon/General Dynamics Phalanx Mark 15 Mod 21 close-in weapon system is mounted on top of the helicopter hangar for "last-ditch" defence against targets that evade the Sea Sparrow.
As built, the main gun on the forecastle is a /70 calibre Mark 2 gun from Bofors. The gun is capable of firing shells at a rate of 220 rounds per minute at a range of more than. The vessels also carry eight machine guns.
Countermeasures and sensors
As built, the decoy system comprises two BAE Systems Shield Mark 2 decoy launchers which fire chaff to and infrared rockets to in distraction, confusion and centroid seduction modes. The torpedo decoy is the AN/SLQ-25A Nixie towed acoustic decoy from Argon ST. The ship's radar warning receiver, the CANEWS, SLQ-501, and the radar jammer, SLQ-505, were developed by Thorn and Lockheed Martin Canada. Two Thales Nederland SPG-503 fire control radars are installed one on the roof of the bridge and one on the raised radar platform immediately forward of the helicopter hangar. The ship is also fitted with Raytheon AN/SPS-495 long-range active air search radar operating at C and D bands, Ericsson HC150 Sea Giraffe medium-range air and surface search radar operating at G and H bands, and Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I-band navigation radar. The sonar suite includes the CANTASS Canadian Towed Array and GD-C AN/SQS-510 hull-mounted sonar and incorporates an acoustic range prediction system. The sonobuoy processing system is the GD-C AN/UYS-503.Refit
The Government of Canada announced on 5 July 2007 a $3.1 billion refit program for the Halifax class which would take place from 2010 to 2018 and extend the ships' service lives through to the 2030s. The total cost of the program was set at $4.3 billion, with $2 billion for combat systems upgrades and $1.2 billion for mid-life refits. A further $1 billion was paid to contractors for other projects.Faced with delays and restrictions from the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Navy opted to modernize the Halifax class using as much non-American equipment as possible, including technology from Canada, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands and Israel. The International Traffic in Arms Regulations has also been blamed for the delay of the CH-148 Cyclone which was running two years behind the original schedule. The Halifax class received state of the art equipment able to handle modern threats through 2030. The modernization includes passive and active weapons, radars, and new combat architecture.
File:Halifax Shipyard June 2015 closeup.JPG|thumb|The Halifax Shipyard in 2015. Refits for Halifax-class frigates used by Maritime Forces Atlantic were completed at the shipyard in 2016.
The refit program was formally announced as completed on the west coast by Victoria Shipyards on 29 April 2016 by the Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan when Regina was returned to the Royal Canadian Navy. Calgary was the first to undergo work at Victoria, followed by Winnipeg, Vancouver, Ottawa and Regina. The construction phase of the program on the east coast was completed on 29 November 2016 when the final east coast ship, Toronto, was handed back to the Royal Canadian Navy at Halifax Shipyard.
Control systems
The new combat system architecture and combat management system fitted to the Halifax class is the CMS330 Combat Management System from Lockheed Martin Canada, which includes elements of the Saab 9LV Mk4 combat management system CMS330 is a development of SHINPADS. The Integrated Platform Management System from L-3 MAPPS provides systems management. IPMS is a development of SHINMACS.Weaponry and propulsion upgrades
The Halifax class use the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile, instead of the obsolete RIM-7 Sea Sparrow. The ESSM gives a greater range against anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft. The Royal Canadian Navy announced the upgrade of the ESSMs in March 2023 to the Block II configuration, achieving operational capability in June 2024. The Harpoon missiles were upgraded to Block II, with first test firing aboard the frigates performed in 2016. BAE Systems received a contract to upgrade the Bofors 57 mm Mk 2 to Bofors 57 mm Mk 3 configuration in 2009.The Department of National Defence requested a tender to provide a naval remote weapon system defence capability to the Halifax and Iroquois classes. The Halifax class was to be fitted with this new system to replace the 12.7 mm M2HB heavy machine gun. Although not part of the refit, Raytheon Canada Limited was awarded a contract of $180 million for eight years to overhaul, convert and repair all Canadian CIWS to a Block 1B Baseline 1 configuration.
It was announced by the Department of National Defence that Hewitt Equipment was chosen to replace the diesel generators aboard the Halifax-class vessels in June 2015. The contract was awarded for 10 years, with options to extend it out to 22 years and covers ships assigned to either coast. The speed of the vessels in the class increased to over following the FELEX upgrades.