Canada’s Asterix Completes Navy Trials
(Photo: Davie Shipbuilding)
(Photo: Davie Shipbuilding)
(Photo: Davie Shipbuilding)
(Photo: Davie Shipbuilding)
(Photo: Davie Shipbuilding)
Left to right: Captain Tim Allard, Captain of the Asterix; Commander Sylvain Belair, Commanding Officer of Sea Training; Commodore Skjerpen; Commander of Canadian Fleet Atlantic; and Lieutenant Commander Walsh on the Bridge, on board the NRU Asterix off the Coast Halifax, Nova Scotia on Jan 12, 2018. Photo: John Iglesias / Formation Imaging Services)
Spencer Fraiser (right), the CEO of NRU Asterix, and Commodore Craig Skjerpen (left) , Commander of Canadian Fleet Atlantic , on the Bridge of the NRU Asterix off the Coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia on Jan 12, 2018. (Photo: John Iglesias / Formation Imaging Services)
(Photo: Davie Shipbuilding)
(Photo: Davie Shipbuilding)
Canada’s first Resolve-Class Naval Support Ship, Asterix, has been formally accepted by the Department of National Defense and has now entered full operational service with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) following a period of at-sea trials and testing, announced Davie Shipbuilding and Federal Fleet Services.
Asterix performed daily replenishment-at-sea (RAS) exercises with the RCN and conducted extensive RCAF CH-148 Cyclone helicopter operations to prove and demonstrate the capabilities of the Resolve-Class Naval Support Ship. These exercises have included everything from dual RAS operations to helicopter landing, take-off and vertical replenishment trials.
Spencer Fraser, CEO of Federal Fleet Services, commented, “To deliver the first Canadian naval ship in over 20 years, the first supply ship in almost 50 years, and to reach FOC so efficiently and in such a short period of time is a testament to the hard work, dedication and dynamism of the teams at Davie and FFS. We are all very proud of our achievement and appreciative of the professional support we have received from DND and PSPC.”
Fraser added, “We promised the government that we would fill a strategic gap in an expedited manner, that we would save the Canadian taxpayer money with our solution, and most importantly, that we would provide the men and women of the RCN and RCAF with a world-class capability they could be proud of. Today marks that achievement and we stand ready to assist the Government of Canada to do more.”
Alex Vicefield, Chairman of Davie commented, “We would like to thank Prime Minister Trudeau for the confidence and trust he placed in Canada’s largest shipbuilder with the award of this program. We are proud to have delivered, as promised, on this vital defense capability which will serve Canada for years to come.”
More than 900 Canadian companies from coast-to-coast participated in the build of Asterix, and the Resolve Class has been hailed worldwide for the innovative Canadian solutions integrated onboard. Participation in this project has assisted the exports of many of Davie’s Tier 1 sub-contractors; Hepburn of Toronto designed and built the RAS equipment, L3 MAPPS of Montreal designed and installed the Integrated Platform Management System and OSI of Vancouver designed and built the Integrated Bridge System. By participating in the project, these and other innovative Canadian companies have been able to win export opportunities.
Asterix is now ready for global deployment to support combat and humanitarian operations as directed by the Government of Canada.
