A trio of South Korean corporations have made a major, multibillion-dollar pitch to Canada, promising to shortly change the navy’s growing old submarines, ship extra firepower to the military and assist revitalize the nation’s defence industrial base.
An in depth overview of the unsolicited proposals, which had been delivered to the federal authorities in early March, was given to CBC Information.
The businesses have the complete backing of the South Korean authorities, which is raring to broaden the defence and safety partnership it signed with former prime minister Justin Trudeau two years in the past in Seoul.
CBC Information was given unprecedented, unique entry to senior Korean defence and safety officers in addition to two defence crops and shipyards, which have put aside their aggressive variations to be able to bid on Canada’s submarine alternative program.
Hanwha Ocean and Hyundai Heavy Industries submitted an in depth, joint presentation price $20 billion to $24 billion, promising to ship the primary 4 submarines by 2035, the present Royal Canadian Navy deadline to obtain only one new boat. It has additionally pitched constructing upkeep services on this nation which might make use of Canadians.
Hanwha Aerospace, a sister firm to the shipyard, has individually put down two detailed proposals to re-equip the military with massive, cell howitzers and rocket-propelled artillery, just like the U.S.-made HIMAR system. It has additionally proposed a much bigger bundle of armoured autos to fill the gaps the military has in tracked combating autos and defence.
These pitches are price greater than $1 billion, relying on what the Canadian authorities chooses and include speedy supply instances and the potential of organising upkeep — and doubtlessly manufacturing — centres, South Korean defence officers mentioned.
As Ottawa rethinks U.S. weapons contracts, South Korean arms producers need to resupply Canada’s depleted navy with the whole lot from howitzers to submarines. CBC’s Murray Brewster obtained unique entry to 1 firm angling to develop into Canada’s new excessive tech arsenal.
The proposals signify an unprecedented diplomatic and company push to get Canada to purchase its navy gear elsewhere than america and Europe.
“We don’t consider this as a single, one-time deal between two international locations. It is not a transaction for us,” Deputy Defence Minister Hyunki Cho advised CBC Information in a latest translated interview. “If we do reach making the sale, then we’re going to try to give our effort towards strengthening the capabilities of Canada’s defence business, in addition to furthering defence co-operation.”
Canada procurement choices
The bids had been introduced at a time when many Canadians — dealing with the Trump administration’s commerce battle and threats of annexation — have demanded the federal authorities cancel main navy purchases from america, including the F-35 fighter program.
The Liberal authorities of Prime Minister Mark Carney ordered a overview of the plan and hinted that Canada might take supply of the plane it has already paid for and look elsewhere to fill the remainder of the order. In whole, Canada has mentioned it requires 88 superior fighters.
Whereas it didn’t submit a full unsolicited proposal, Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) has expressed curiosity in promoting Canada its F-50 fighter plane as a coaching jet that might be shortly transformed right into a fight plane.
South Korea has additionally begun manufacturing its personal stealth fighter in partnership with Indonesia. Nevertheless, KAI officers haven’t but supplied it to Canada.
Regardless of the passion, there’s deep skepticism amongst South Korean defence and overseas coverage officers and observers that Canada is severe about breaking its dependency on the defence-industrial complicated of america.
In the course of the lately concluded federal election marketing campaign, Carney repeatedly made clear the connection with the U.S. had modified irrevocably.
“The previous relationship we had with america based mostly on deepening integration of our economies and tight safety and navy co-operation is over,” Carney mentioned on March 27 in Ottawa.
The Liberal acknowledged simply because the election marketing campaign obtained underway that it was deep into negotiations to affix the European Union’s ReArm defence plan — a partnership that will make Canada eligible for joint procurement with allies on the continent.
South Korean defence consultants level out that Europe continues to be determining learn how to re-arm with many defence industries needing to retool and reopen manufacturing traces shuttered because the finish of the Chilly Battle.
“The provision chain is weak in Europe,” Kayla Mijung Kim, of the Korean Institute for Industrial Economics and Commerce, advised CBC Information in Seoul.
“Germany and France, for instance, need to make their very own weapons methods, however they’re constrained. They can not procure all of the defence elements they want from European international locations. I believe they want a while.”
Manufacturing bottlenecks — a facet that starkly introduced itself as international locations rushed to arm Ukraine — have pushed some NATO allies to look elsewhere.
Poland is probably the most dramatic instance.
Since 2022, Warsaw has signed between $16 billion and $22 billion US price of contracts with South Korean corporations. A lot of these offers for K2 Black Panther tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers and K239 Chunmoo a number of rocket launchers have been damaged down into tranches. Since then, different offers have adopted with Norway, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, Romania and the UK.
Extra lately, Australia jumped on board with a $6.19-billion program to construct 129 infantry combating autos, lots of them constructed within the Commonwealth nation.
South Korea’s minister of defence acquisition program administration, Seok Jong-Gun, mentioned the settlement with Poland was the breakthrough in convincing Western allies to think about a supply aside from conventional armsmakers.
“Previous to the big contract signed with Poland, Korea’s repute as a defence exporter was not that enormous,” he advised CBC Information in a translated interview. “Nevertheless, with the signing of an enormous contract with Poland and all through the method of implementing these contracts, many international locations have discovered that Korea is ready to provide high quality merchandise in a well timed method.”
The gives to assist arrange manufacturing and upkeep services have been key in clinching the agreements, Seok mentioned.
Former president Yoon Suk Yeol had made rising the nation’s share of defence exports a precedence, to the purpose the place South Korea seems on observe to be the world’s fourth-largest arms producer by 2027.
“We’ve got seen a big and dramatic improve in our export quantity within the defence sector” in the previous couple of years, Seok mentioned.
Because it stands, the Canadian Military is dealing with quite a lot of challenges — each abroad and domestically. It has struggled to subject gear to its drive in Latvia, together with fashionable anti-tank weapons, air-defence methods and counter-drone know-how.
It additionally lacks cell artillery and rocket-based artillery, which have been options of the battle between Ukraine and Russia.
The military at present has 47 capital tasks on the go, Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright, the nation’s prime soldier, told CBC News in February.
“The military now we have now shouldn’t be the military that we’d like for the long run,” Wright mentioned when requested if he was glad with the equipping of the troops on the NATO mission in Latvia.
A defence professional mentioned there’s not lots of time to interchange key methods.
Dave Perry, president of the Canadian World Affairs institute, outlines a few of the main items of apparatus that Canada’s navy wants to interchange, improve or add.
“We obtained right here by a number of many years of governments kicking the can down the street, and I believe we’re on the level now the place now we have run out of street,” mentioned Dave Perry, president of the Canadian World Affairs Institute. “Our gear is — in some instances — actually rusting out.”
He mentioned the proposal from Seoul, no matter whether or not it is unsolicited, deserves severe consideration as a result of it will probably fill some essential gaps shortly, an essential consideration since we do not know what a defence-industrial partnership with Europe will appear to be.
South Korea “is the place a few of our different allies have regarded to shortly fill functionality supply wants in a giant hurry. Poland is getting its military rebuilt largely with South Korean assist,” Perry mentioned.
“They have a observe report already at having the ability to present enormous quantities of apparatus in very brief order. The Canadian Armed Forces is on the level the place now we have actually severe operational readiness deficiencies. We do have to search for choices that may fulfil no less than a few of our acquisition wants shortly.”
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