Kingston-class coastal defence vessel

The "Kingston" class consists of 12 coastal defence vessels operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. The class is the name for the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project (MCDV). These multi-role vessels were built and launched from the mid- to late-1990s and are crewed by a combination of Naval Reserve and Regular-Force personnel.
Their main missions are counter narcotics, coastal surveillance, sovereignty patrol, route survey, and training. They were designed with a minesweeping role in mind and are consequently classified as mechanical minesweepers (MM); however, this role has diminished as a result of the evolving nature of mine warfare. The possibility of acquiring the gear necessary to undertake a more appropriate mine-hunting role continues to be examined.
Design.
The "Kingston"-class patrol vessels were conceived to advance the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment and construction techniques in a ship designed to military specifications.
While the Z-drive thrusters make the "Kingston"-class vessels extremely manoeuvrable (able to turn within their own ship length) and the engines are quite powerful and fuel-efficient, the hull shape, with a blunt stern and "hard" chine designed for minesweeping, prevents the ship from achieving a "sprint" speed and the patrol vessels of other nations are considerably faster. However, the "Kingston"s' top speed is faster than that of most mine warfare vessels and is comparable to some small civilian seagoing vessels.
The hull is a longitudinally framed structure and was designed to minimize steel weight. The construction involved initial production of partially outfitted steel modules which were made into sub-assemblies and then integrated into the ship. The decks were assembled upside down with pre-outfitting of the underside of the deck prior to installation on the ship. In contrast to many modern mine warfare vessels, which often have hulls made of non-magnetic glass-reinforced plastic or similar material, the "Kingston" class have conventional steel hulls. The vessels are no longer equipped with a magnetic degaussing system that allows the ship's magnetic signature to be manipulated in three dimensions to minimize vulnerability to magnetic mines.
Modular payload.
"Kingston"-class vessels are designed to carry up to three ISO containers with power hookups on the open deck aft in order to embark mission-specific payloads. As of 2009, the available modules included:
Weapons.
The ships were built with a Bofors 40 mm Model 60 Mk 5C rapid fire gun, and two 12.7 mm (.50 cal) machine guns. 
The Bofors gun was mounted on the forecastle deck and the arc of fire extends forwards by ±120°, until their removal in 2014. The machine guns are mounted on either side at the front of the bridge deck. In a depressed position each machine gun fires in a 118° arc.
The main armament was originally a Second World War Bofors design that is manually loaded and lacks modern targeting capability. The 40 mm gun was declared obsolete in 2014 and removed from the vessels. Some of them ended up as museum pieces and on display at naval reserve installations across Canada.
In October 2006, Maritime Command experimented with mounting a remote controlled heavy machine gun station, the OTO Melara 12.7 mm RCHMG, in place of the 40 mm Bofors cannon aboard HMCS "Summerside".
In 2018 the Royal Canadian Navy acquired the UAV AeroVironment Puma II AE with Mantis i45 Sensor for use on Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels.
Sensors.
The navigation equipment includes a Sperry Marine Bridge Master E I-band navigation radar and a Global Positioning System. The surface search radar is the E to F-band Sperry Marine Bridge Master E. A towed high-frequency sidescan sonar can be fitted for bottom mapping and route surveys.
Propulsion.
The ship is equipped with four main Wärtsilä UD 23V12 diesel engines which are coupled to four alternators (600 V AC). Two Jeumont electric motors (±740 V DC) provide power to the two LIPS Z-drive azimuth thrusters which are fitted with fixed-pitch reversing propellers. The propulsion system provides maximum continuous speed. The range at the economical cruising speed of using two engines is with a 20% margin in tank capacity. Mechanical minesweeping is carried out at . The crash stop length is five ship lengths from a speed of .
Deployment and operations.
The ships are evenly distributed between the east and west coasts.
One vessel on each coast is maintained for rapid deployment: this responsibility is rotated amongst the ships.
Future of the class.
The Royal Canadian Navy is discarding a $100-million mid-life refit plan for the twelve vessels in this class. It had been intended to retain the "mid-lifed" vessels through 2045–2055. While the RCN concluded that the money would be better spent in acquiring a new platform, the Liberal Government's 2017 defence policy statement, "Strong, Secure and Engaged", did not reference replacing these vessels. The RCN review listed low speed and small size as reasons for the MCDV being inadequate for patrol duties (both are factors of the original specification). Notwithstanding the success of the ships in their deployment, critics suggest that patrol and training were tacked onto the mine-countermeasures role and that the platform lacks serious armament for a sovereignty enforcement role.
On 13 May 2010, it was announced that six of the twelve MCDVs would be placed in extended readiness due to lack of funds and the inability of the naval reserve to provide sufficient personnel to man the ships. On May 14 however that order was rescinded.
In October 2011, L-3 MAPPS was awarded a contract to supply degaussing systems for the "Kingston"-class ships. The advanced degaussing systems were to be delivered and supported locally in collaboration with SAM Electronics.
In November 2012 MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates was awarded a two-year $13.4 million contract to repair and upgrade the deployable sonar systems.
Ships in class.
There are twelve "Kingston"-class ships in Canadian service. All were built by Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax, Nova Scotia
See also.
Other similar class coastal defence vessels:
Other Royal Canadian Navy vessels: