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The Liberal government’s plan to accept bids for the navy’s future warships has been delayed because of a battle over the amount of Canadian content needed in the vessels and the decision to allow a British design that only exists on paper into the competition.

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Bids were to be requested from companies in August.

But a government spokesman now says the request is expected to go out to companies sometime “in the fall” although no specific date was given.

The bid package, called a request for proposals or RFP, has gone through various drafts, the latest handed to industry representatives on Sunday for comments.

The new ships called Canadian Surface Combatants are estimated to cost more than $26 billion and will be the backbone of the Royal Canadian Navy’s future fleet.

The project has seen repeated delays with the navy at one time expecting the ships by 2015. The vessels are now planned for sometime in the early 2020s.