Davie Shipbuilding and Federal Fleet Services announced that following an intensive period of at-sea trials and testing, Asterix has been formally accepted by the Department of National Defence and has now entered full operational service with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
Asterix during sea trials with the RCN.
As planned, 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 world-leading 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 twenty 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.”
Asterix and Toronto UNREP.
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 defence capability which will serve Canada for years to come.”
Asterix during VERTREP operations with a RCAF CH-148 Cyclone helicopter
Over 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.
