Canada in wait to use its mine-clearing drones

Canada in wait to use its mine-clearing drones

Canadian Press

CTV

HALIFAX — France and the United States will likely be the first countries to take full advantage of advanced minesweeping technology developed in Canada, even though it was first intended for Canadian navy ships, says a senior researcher.

While a number of countries have shown interest in purchasing the high-tech gear, the Canadian navy will only get to test drive the Remote Minehunting System because of budget cuts and a cumbersome procurement process.

In an deal signed last week, Ottawa said it will pay for operational tests of the system for only 20 days a year. The Canadian tests are expected to be carried out at the navy's base in Esquimalt, B.C., over the next 18 months.

Canadian taxpayers invested $20 million in the project. Still, there are no plans for Canada to purchase the homegrown system until 2010.

The system, developed in conjunction with the French defence giant DCN, uses drones to hunt for explosives in murky harbour bottoms.

International interest is being driven by the fear that terrorists could use a few, relatively cheap underwater mines to disrupt commercial shipping, said Dave Hopkin, head of mine and torpedo studies at Defence Research and Development Canada.

"That is one of the new and emerging roles for this type of a system," Hopkin said in an interview.

It can detect "anything from a barrel full of explosives to a conventional mine shape."

Hopkin said "it's quite likely" the French and the Americans will buy and use the Canadian system before Canada does.

Though the federal budget in February promised $12.8 billion in new defence spending over five years, most of that money won't be available until 2009-2011.

A senior Defence Department official confirmed the navy was unable to pencil in the high-tech program until 2010.

"We were hoping to fit into the plan earlier, rather than later, but other issues were judged to be a higher priority," said Lieut.-Cmdr Jim Hewitt, the staff officer for mine warfare.

"The government gives us a set amount of money to spend each year on capital equipment. The company could probably deliver it earlier, but that means we'd have to knock some other piece of equipment out of the way and that might cost money (in contract penalties)."

Hewitt, who has devoted much of military career to perfecting the minehunting system, denied that either the French or the Americans would acquire a military edge by using Canadian technology.

Even if the units were purchased today and delivered in 18 months, there would still be training required - something the Canadians will be doing, he said.

The system uses two submersible vessels that are connected by a steel cable.

An eight-metre, diesel-powered mini-submarine - operating just below the surface - tows a smaller craft that skims just above the sea floor, taking video images and sonar readings.

The data from the drones are beamed to a navy ship up to eight kilometres away.

Canadian defence researchers began working on the system over a decade ago as 12 coastal defence vessels were constructed for the navy.

The original intent, Hopkin said, was to equip the new vessels with the minehunters, but "due to budgetary reasons" they were not able to do it.

The French defence contractor DCN is now marketing the units under the name Seakeeper.

The system was recently demonstrated to the head of the U.S. navy's mine warfare division at Corpus Christi, Texas.

A statement from the company said that Rear Admiral D. A. Loewer was impressed with the system's "remarkable performance."

But no final decision has been taken by the U.S. Defence Department on whether it will acquire the Seakeeper, which costs up to $29 million per unit.

Hopkin said DCN is currently pitching the French navy, which is interested in purchasing a minehunting system for at least one harbour.