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HMCS Corner Brook will be the first Canadian submarine to be equipped with a new communications system.

The Universal Modular Masts or UMM for Canada’s Victoria class submarines are part of an equipment suite provided by the Protected Military Satellite Communications project, according to the Department of National Defence. The estimated project cost for the submarine equipment suite, including installation, is approximately $70 million, while the overall PMSC project cost is approximately $592 million.

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The Protected Military Satellite Communication project is in collaboration with the U.S. and other allied nations and provides the Canadian military with secure, protected, jamming-resistant satellite communications on a near world-wide basis.

The UMM will improve the Victoria-class as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform, according to the DND. The mast and its associated equipment suite will provide near real-time high-speed communications with shore.

Corner Brook is in its Extended Docking Work Period and installation of the mast is now underway. Babcock Canada Inc. is handling the installation under the aegis of the Victoria In-Service Support Contract. It is being done at CFB Esquimalt in British Columbia.

The equipment was acquired through a foreign military sales acquisition. The cost for PMSC-supplied submarine equipment, including UMMs, is approximately $35 million, according to the DND.

Installation of the UMM on Corner Brook will be complete in 2020. Installation on the other three submarines will be finished by 2026.