It’s tough for me to understand if this is a necessary expenditure or an excessive waste. On the positive, our allies want us to increase our defense budget and this will definitely put that number up.
It does seem prudent to be able to better patrol our northern waters to guard against internet cable cutting b.s.
It is. I would say (in my entirely non-expert opinion) that any naval spending now is worth more than any navy spending later, simply because it gets the ball rolling sooner.
I think we need to have a more robust military, a more resilient supply chain, and more reliable equipment. These frigates have been being planned for a while, dragging it out longer just differs cost, and military capability is built capacity; your military does missions with the equipment is has, not the equipment it will have.
The best time to build these frigates was probably years ago, then we would be in a much better position. The next best time is now.
Are these frigates perfect? Probably not, especially with the newfound unreliability of our historic friend, ally and brother nation the US. Thing is, I don't think there is a perfect solution to this. Plus never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Also, we live in a more dangerous world, and Canadian prosperity will suffer. Being a robust partner to our reliable allies and being self reliant on defence will reduce that loss of prosperity. Defence spending should be seen as an investment, or more akin to an insurance policy.
Money would probably be better spent on drone tech—land, sea, subSurface and air. Bigger bang for the buck and the future. Large surface vessels are considerable targets. Tactics have evolved.
Please arm chair general, let's invest in drones and send you specifically to patrol our northern waterways. I'd like to see you intercept a Russian or American vessel violating our territorial waters with your drones.
I don't say that drones are bad, it's just 2 entirely different tools.