Good to see that a design has finally been selected, and good to hear its based on the Type 26 too.
But ..... I fear this is still the start of a long process and certainly not the end (as Canadian Naval procurement history has shown). Here's the official Canadian Government announcement:
Government of Canada delivers on its commitment to the Navy by announcing next steps in fleet procurement - Canada.ca
Assuming the negotiations go relatively smoothly, it will still be interesting to see how long it will take to actually get to 'cutting steel' stage, and of course how many ships are actually ordered, I still struggle to see that 15 will be built, probably more likely around 12 (just my opinion).
It's interesting to look back at both the AOPS and JSS projects.
AOPS, my understanding was that back in 2007 when the
Svalbard class was selected, the plan was for 6-8 ships, but of course it dragged on so now its 5 ships with an option for a 6th, and the first of the AOPS has finally been launched last month (September 2018).
JSS, the very long running JSS project, my understanding was the project was originally announced back in 2004 (originally 2-3 ships, but most likely only two ships now), and finally in June 2013 it was announced that the
Berlin-class AOR was selected as the winning design.
And of course not forgetting the massive cost escalation that has been reported since that announcement, but finally it appears that steel has been cut on the first ships this year (2018), will be interesting to see when the first ship is actually delivered?
Anyway, not trying to sound too negative, great to see Type 26 selected, just not going to hold my breath as to how many ships and when steel is likely to be cut!!
Cheers,