Royal Canadian Navy Fleet Inventory 🇨🇦

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is the naval arm of the Canadian Armed Forces and is tasked with defending Canada's maritime interests at home and abroad. Given Canada's extensive coastline—the longest in the world—and significant maritime resources, the RCN plays a crucial role in national defense, as well as in international missions, including NATO operations and other coalition endeavors.

The backbone of the RCN's surface fleet comprises multi-role frigates of the Halifax-class. These vessels are versatile, capable of anti-submarine, anti-air, and anti-surface warfare. They've undergone modernization to extend their service lives and to upgrade various systems, including combat, communications, and radar capabilities. In addition to the Halifax-class, the RCN operates Kingston-class maritime coastal defense vessels that are primarily tasked with coastal surveillance, mine countermeasures, and fisheries patrols.

Canada is investing in the future of its navy through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, which aims to replace and modernize the current fleet. One of the most significant aspects of this strategy is the Canadian Surface Combatant project, which plans to build 15 new advanced frigates based on the British Type 26 design. These vessels are expected to replace the Halifax-class frigates and will provide the RCN with state-of-the-art capabilities.

Submarines remain a small but vital component of the Canadian Navy. Canada operates four Victoria-class diesel-electric submarines, acquired from the United Kingdom. Although these boats have faced various technical challenges and limitations, they serve as important tools for underwater reconnaissance and surveillance, particularly in the Arctic region, a focus of Canadian strategic interest.

The RCN is also working to bolster its maritime aviation capabilities. Maritime helicopters like the CH-148 Cyclone have replaced the older CH-124 Sea Kings and are deployed on board Halifax-class frigates to perform anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and utility roles.

Key facts

Number of active ships by category