Canadian warship rearms in Australia, a 'significant' milestone for deployed frigates, DND says

HMCS Vancouver performs the Royal Canadian Navy’s first missile rearmament outside of Canada and the United States on Sept. 23, 2024, in Australia. (Conor R.G. Munn/Canadian Armed Forces)

A Royal Canadian Navy warship was rearmed with missiles and munitions in Australia this week, marking the first ever overseas rearmament for the service's Halifax-class frigates.

HMCS Vancouver, which deployed to the Indo-Pacific region earlier this year, was rearmed in the northwestern Australian port of Broome on Monday, the culmination of what the Department of National Defence described as nine months of planning.

The rearmament is a demonstration of Canada's efforts to promote greater interoperability with its allies and could allow for longer combat-ready deployments in the region.

"Having the capability to rearm far from a Canadian homeport is a significant achievement," the department said in a statement Thursday, noting its co-ordination with the Australians on the rearmament plan began in January.

A National Defence spokesperson said in an email the rearmament is first for a Canadian frigate outside of Canadian or American territorial waters.

The ammunition for the rearmament was loaded aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-177 Globemaster and flown to an Australian military base in Darwin, where it was stored pending the ship's arrival, according to the statement.

The Australian air force and civilian contractors then transported the munitions more than 1,000 kilometres to Broome, where they were loaded onto the frigate.

"This rearmament process allows the Canadian Armed Forces to strengthen its interoperability and interchangeability through the sharing of information, techniques, and lessons learned that will allow for more agility moving forward," National Defence said.

A 'proof of concept'

Australia's defence ministry says the operation, which also included the rearming of an American destroyer, was the first time the country rearmed foreign ships on its northern coast.

The commander of Canada's Pacific naval fleet says the forward rearmament capability is crucial to sustaining Canada's naval operations abroad.

"We have been deploying for many years to this region and we have logistics and personnel movements and fuelling squared off," Commodore David Mazur said in a statement through the Australian Defence Force on Wednesday. "This is the furthest forward we have ever done it."

The Australians had practised removing and replacing an Evolved Sea Sparrow missile – the same kind deployed aboard the Canadian frigates – on one of its own vessels a day prior as a "proof of concept," the ministry said.

"Safety was paramount, and an exclusion zone of more than 180 metres was maintained to ensure the transport, movement and installation of these missiles was conducted without mishap," according to the statement from the Australian defence ministry.

National Defence says HMCS Vancouver fired a pair of the vertically launched missiles and other munitions during multinational exercises since its deployment in June.

"The ability to conduct a forward rearmament this far from home increases our operational range in the region, enabling us to be better able to respond when called upon to protect and defend Canada and our allies," Lt.-Gen. Steve Boivin, commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, said in the statement from National Defence.