Royal Canadian Navy

The **Royal Canadian Navy** (**RCN**) (French: *Marine royale canadienne*) is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2045 Canada's navy operates 2 aircraft carriers, 4 amphibious assault vessels, 8 destroyers, 16 frigates, 10 icebreakers, 40 patrol vessels and 14 submarines, as well as several auxiliary vessels, including 12 replenishment vessels, operated by the civilian-manned Naval Support Command on behalf of the RCN. The Royal Canadian Navy consists of 40 700 Regular Force and 5600 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by 20 600 civilians. Admiral Ron Lloyd is the current Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and Chief of the Naval Staff.

Founded in 1910 as the **Naval Service of Canada** and given royal sanction on 29 August 1911, the Royal Canadian Navy was amalgamated with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Army to form the unified Canadian Armed Forces in 1968, after which it was known as "Maritime Command" until 2011.

In 2011, its historical title of "Royal Canadian Navy" (RCN) was restored. Over the course of its history, the RCN has served in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan and numerous United Nations peacekeeping missions and NATO operations.

## Structure

The Royal Canadian Navy is headquartered at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 1968, the Royal Canadian Navy has been an environmental command of the Canadian Armed Forces.

### First Fleet

   The Royal Canadian Navy's First Fleet, is the operational fleet of Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC), the navy's West Coast formation with headquarters at CFB Esquimalt in British Columbia. MARPAC consists of over 18 000 naval personnel and 11 000 civilian personnel.

Comprising 37 warships and 29 auxiliary vessels split between CFB Prince Rupert and CFB Esquimalt, the First Fleet is responsible for Canada's exclusive economic zone on the West Coast and Canada's area of responsibility in the Pacific Ocean and the western Arctic Ocean. The Royal Canadian Air Force's aircraft based at CFB Prince Rupert, CFB Comox and CFB Esquimalt provide maritime support to the First Fleet.

Within the command of the Second Fleet, the ships can be further divided into three formations: Carrier Group Macdonald, Strike Group Brock and Strike Group Tecumseh.

### Second Fleet

   The Royal Canadian Navy's Second Fleet is the operational fleet of Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT), the navy's East Coast formation with headquarters at CFB Halifax, Nova Scotia. MARLANT consists of over 15 000 naval personnel and 9600 civilian personnel.

Comprising 39 warships and 29 auxiliary vessels split between CFB Halifax and CFB Nanisivik, the Second Fleet is responsible for Canada's exclusive economic zone on the East Coast and Canada's area of responsibility in the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Arctic Ocean. The Royal Canadian Air Force's aircraft based at CFB Greenwood, CFB Shearwater and CFB Nansivik provide maritime support to the Second Fleet.

Within the command of the Second Fleet, the ships can be further divided into four formations: the Arctic Flotilla, Carrier Group Laurier, Strike Group Salaberry and Strike Group Secord.

### Naval Support Command

The Naval Support Command (NSC) is the organisation responsible for coordinating the auxiliary replenishment and support vessels of the Royal Canadian Navy. It is a primarily civilian manned-fleet, although regular and Reserve personnel augment the NSC to perform specialised military functions. Among its 64 vessels include 2 landing helicopter docks that support amphibious operations, 12 large replenishment vessels that provide replenishment at sea for naval groups (including 2 Joint Support Ships) and 2 disaster relief vessels that make up the RCN's material contribution to the Disaster Assistance Relief Team (DART), a specialised, permanent task force with the goal of providing disaster relief around the world. In addition to these vessels, the NSC also operates an additional 6 sealift vessels under a private finance initiative with Full Core Shipping Ltd.. Under this initiative, these vessels are leased to the NSC as needed, but operate commercially when not.

### Royal Canadian Marine Corps

The Royal Canadian Marine Corps (RCMC) are a specialised amphibious light infantry force of commandos, capable of deploying at short notice in support of Her Majesty's Government's military and diplomatic objectives overseas. The RCMC is organised into a highly mobile light infantry brigade (1 Marine Brigade) and 2 Marine Brigade, made up of numerous units responsible for fleet protection, training and other necessary miscellaneous roles. The Corps operates in all environments and climates, though particular expertise and training is spent on amphibious warfare, Arctic warfare, mountain warfare, expeditionary warfare and commitment to the Canada's Rapid Response Force. The RCMC is also the primary organisation contributing to the Special Maritime Detachment (SMD), the maritime component of Special Operations Forces Command (SOFCOM).

## Fleet

### Surface fleet

#### Large fleet units - amphibious and carriers

The large fleet units in the Royal Canadian Navy consist of 6 amphibious warfare ships and aircraft carriers. Large fleet units in service currently are the 2 *Macdonald*-class aircraft carriers, the largest surface vessels in the Navy, displacing 75 000 tonnes, and the 4 *Brock*-class landing helicopter docks, providing amphibious assault capabilities. These amphibious capabilities are augmented by the two *Bishop*-class landing helicopter docks operated by the Naval Support Command and, to a limited extent, the four *Kingsmill*-class tankers.

#### Major surface combatants - destroyers and frigates

The escort fleet, in the form of guided missile destroyers and frigates, is the traditional workhorse of the Navy. There are 8 *Currie*-class anti-air destroyers, 10 *Victoria*-class anti-submarine frigates and 6 *Rainbow*-class patrol frigates in active service. Among their primary roles is to provide escort for the larger capital ships—protecting them from air, surface and subsurface threats- and fulfilling the RCN's international commitments to allies, regularly deploying in NATO and PNT missions.

#### Patrol vessels

The patrol vessel fleet provides the RCN with credible, combat-capable platforms for deployments where a major surface combatant would not be necessary, such as coastal surveillance and humanitarian relief, freeing up additional combat assets for the navy, as well as mine-countermeasure capabilities. Currently, patrol vessels are the only surface vessels to be forward-deployed, with 3 *Logan*-class patrol vessels being deployed in Kuwait, Germany and Japan. The patrol vessel fleet is made up of 24 *Logan*-class vessels, 12 of which are operated by the RCN's primary reserve and 12 *Cape*-class patrol boats, used to conduct patrols near naval bases.

### Submarine fleet

The RCN's submarine fleet currently consists of 14 *Victory*-class conventional attack submarines. These submarines provide the RCN with the capability to monitor and influence naval activities around the world, often without detection. Taskings assigned to the submarine fleet include: providing anti-submarine capabilities to naval task groups, surveillance and intelligence collection, providing support for special forces operations and patrol of Canadian waters.