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She said there will be a maximum focus on getting Canadian content on to the warships being offered by the team. “We’re Canadianizing the Type 26,” she added.

Britain began cutting steel on the Type 26 in the summer. It will build eight of the warships.

A number of other warships are also being offered to Canada for the CSC by various consortiums. For its baseline for the Canadian Surface Combatant, a team led by Alion Canada has selected the Dutch De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command (LCF) frigate.

Fincantieri of Italy and Naval Group of France have confirmed they will jointly bid the FREMM frigate for the Canadian Surface Combatant program.

Canadian government officials said Monday that a winning bidder for the CSC is expected to be selected sometime next year. The vessels will be constructed by Irving Shipyards under the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

Lockheed Martin Canada official Gary Fudge said the firm focused on the Type 26 after an extensive look at some of the warships that might fit Canada’s requirements. Fudge, vice president of Canadian Naval Systems Programs for Lockheed Martin Canada RMS (Rotary and Mission Systems), said the Type 26 is a very low risk design and is adaptable to accept various systems including the CMS 330. He noted that less than 10 per cent of the ship overall will have to be changed to accept Canadian required systems.

Chapdelaine said at this point she didn’t want to provide too many details on what exactly the other firms on the team will be providing. CAE is involved in training, MDA has engineering and manufacturing capability, Ultra provides underwater warfare systems, and L3 has a range of defence and electronic products, she added.

“The other thing this team brings is that we have a track record of investing in Canada, investing in technology, as well as exporting,” Chapdelaine explained. “We all have a strong pedigree in both the R and D piece as well as the commitment to doing exports and IRB executions.”

Construction of the CSC is expected to begin in the early 2020s with the first ship delivered in the mid-2020s, government officials said.

The last of the vessels is expected to be built by 2040 and the ships will continue operating until 2070, government officials said Monday.