Canada Selects German Type 212CD Submarines to Replace Victoria Class Fleet

Canada will purchase 12 Type 212CD submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the German design had won the competition. The boats will replace the four Victoria class submarines acquired secondhand from the United Kingdom in 1998.

The Type 212CD is an improved version of the Type 212A already in service with Germany and Norway. It features an upgraded air-independent propulsion system, new-generation batteries, increased speed and range, and a diamond-shaped hull designed to reduce signatures.

The submarines will displace approximately 2,750 tons, measure 240 feet in length, and carry six 533mm torpedo tubes.

The contract is estimated at more than $12 billion for the submarines, with total costs including roughly 50 years of maintenance potentially exceeding $70 billion. Canada and TKMS must still negotiate final contract terms. The government wants the first submarine delivered no later than 2035.

The selection followed competition with South Korea's Hanwha Ocean, which offered its KSS-III Batch II design. Both submarines met Canada's stated military requirements. The decision appears to have turned on cost and industrial participation offers.

Germany proposed that Canada join the existing Type 212CD program with Norway and offered opportunities for Canadian shipyards to manufacture components or complete submarines. Berlin also indicated interest in purchasing aircraft from Bombardier and accessing Canadian rare earths, mining, artificial intelligence, and battery production.

Three of the four Victoria class submarines are currently undergoing maintenance. The boats have experienced repeated technical problems and extended maintenance periods since entering Canadian service between 2000 and 2015. One submarine suffered a fatal fire during delivery in 2004 and was not commissioned until 2015.