Add a maritime patrol aircraft, and you have the ideal ocean management team able to keep watch over and respond to incidents in a area of some 300,000 square kilometres. Submarines are able to operate in all Canadian waters below 60 degrees North and can also work on the ice edge. In time with new fuel cell technology, a diesel submarine should be able to work even further north. It is these capabilities that will allow Canada to enforce its new Oceans Act and preserve Canadian sovereignty at sea. A submarine need not be restricted to home waters, it can fulfil the same ocean management role, as part of a multinational force, almost anywhere.
Submarines can also undertake a whole range of scientific research tasks.
The value of the modern submarine is reflected in the fact that there are now over 700 operational submarines in the world. Some of these are owned by unpredictable governments, which could easily be a major threat to some future UN or other collective operation to restore peace. We saw this in the Adriatic with the related need for Canadian and other surface ships to be proficient in self-defence procedures. The point overlooked by the disarmament advocates is that the modern submarine is not only a versatile and cost-effective instrument of ocean management and national security it can also be used on a wide range of tasks to support the country's foreign policy. Myth 3 - What little submarine activity that takes place today can be monitored from space.