Canada Navy Canada Surface Combatant (CSC) Program

[oldcpu]

A number of news reports, have posted on L3 Harris being awarded a contract for VSS, which I missed until earlier today:

Irving Shipbuilding awards L3Harris VSS work on Canada’s River-class destroyers

and

A New Lens on Canada’s Naval Future: L3Harris Secures Key Contract for River-Class Destroyers

Both articles more or less say the same thing, albeit with different titles, and some text wording differences. Below is clipped/mixed from both articles (and not a pure quote).

Canadian shipbuilder Irving Shipbuilding has awarded tech company L3Harris a contract for work on the visual surveillance system (VSS) for Canada’s River-class destroyer (RCD) fleet.
...
This VSS contract, awarded to L3Harris, is a network of cameras, sensors, and control units that allows for real-time situational awareness, diagnostics, and ship-wide automation ...
...
The VSS ... Combining cameras, sensors, and control units into a unified network, the system provides real-time situational awareness and diagnostics across the vessel. Its integration with the IPMS ensures seamless ship-wide automation—even under degraded communications conditions. For naval operations, that means persistent awareness and survivability across uncrewed, minimally crewed, or fully crewed platforms.

There is not much more about the technical functionality and planned use of this on the River Class.

If I may take a speculative stab at this, I believe it is mainly for 'safety' and 'security' of the warships, but not nominally for combat, although there may be damage control monitoring benefits (speculation by me). I speculate, in peace time, by having VSS, it means possibly only a few harbour watchkeepers need remain on the warship in harbour, and they would be in a control area on the ship where the various feedback from the VSS can be monitored. They would have visual viewing of many compartments, and the external upper decks of the warship, so to be able to spot anything inappropriate. And if something appeared wrong, they could immediately via phone call in rapid response help.

I posted previously about the planned Gigabit Ethernet Data Multiplexing System (GEDMS) for the River Class Destroyer, and I speculate that this VSS could be integrated into, and use the GEDMS for its data transmission internal to the warship.

 

[oldcpu]

Naval-news has a recent article on the Lionfish 30mm gun:
LEONARDO Unveils Lionfish 30 Turret at Sea Future 2025

Leonardo has unveiled the 30mm LIONFISH® 30 – part of the LIONFISH family of small- and medium-calibre turrets – developed in response to the growing demand from many naval forces for lightweight, multi-role solutions suitable for deployment on vessels tasked with patrolling and providing protection against drones and other modern threats at Sea Future 2025 exhibition in La Spezia, Italy.

The article also links to this youtube video 30mm Lionfish gun :

My understanding is the Canadian navy plans to procure 2 of these guns (one port, one starboard) for each of the River Class Destroyers.

 

[oldcpu]

That still (to my mind) does not confirm S-100 chosen, but it does confirm MDA have been working with Schiebel.

This is old news, and the selection of Schiebel has been noted elsewhere (albeit Schiebel themselves ONLY announced this on 10-September). I did not go looking for this until today which is why I did not post earlier.

On 10-Sep-2025, Schiebel put out a press release (link to PDF here).

Some words (not all) from the Press Release of Schiebel:

SCHIEBEL CAMCOPTER® S-100 INCLUDED IN MDA SPACE SOLUTION FOR RCN ISTAR PROGRAMME

Vienna, 10 September 2025: Schiebel announced today it has been selected by MDA Space Ltd. (TSX:MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, as part of the company’s contract award to equip the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)’s Halifax-class ships with up to six CAMCOPTER® S-100 Uncrewed Aircraft Systems
(UAS).

Schiebel will provide the CAMCOPTER® S-100, a maritime-proven solution designed to fully meet the rigorous Royal Canadian Navy’s Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) UAS requirements. As a Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) platform capable to operate day and night in all-weather conditions, it will deliver real-time ISTAR situational awareness out to 100 nautical miles from the ship. The system supports a comprehensive suite of maritime payloads, including Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) sensors, Maritime Radar, Automatic Identification System (AIS), and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponder technology. The ISTAR UAS project will significantly enhance the RCN’s ability to detect and monitor potential maritime threats, both at home and abroad.
....
About the CAMCOPTER® S-100:

Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) is an operationally proven capability for
military and civilian applications. The Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS requires no prepared area or supporting equipment to enable launch and recovery. It operates by day and by night, under adverse weather conditions, with a beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200 km / 108 nm, over land and sea. Its carbon fiber and titanium fuselage provides capacity for a wide range of payload/endurance combinations up to a service ceiling of 5,500 m / 18,000 ft. In a typical configuration, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 carries a 34-kg / 75-lbs payload up to 10 hours and is powered with AVGas or JP-5 heavy fuel. High-definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real time. In addition to its standard GPS waypoint or manual navigation, the S-100 can successfully operate in environments where GPS is not available, with missions planned and controlled via a simple point-and-click graphical user interface.

I wish there was more information on the payloads.

The press release does not (in my view) provide supporting evidence to indicate that this initial procurement will include an ASW capability (such as dropping sonobuoys and acting as a sonobuoy relay).

Nor does it provide any indication that there will be an ESM receiver nor a SIGINT receiver payload procured for the S-100.

Perhaps the Navy wishes to evaluate these 6 S-100s in a more operational sense, before procuring more S100s and before widening the mission of the S-100 to ESM/ASW/SIGINT (which would mean more payloads than just those hinted at in the press release, and potentially more space required on the Halifax class to store the payloads - assuming payloads are easy to change out at sea).

Again, my hope is, best possible given all that is taking place in the world today with drones also being used by surface warships, that in the design and design implementation of the River Class, that all possible missions (to the maximum extent practical) are considered in the build, making provision for such, in the River Class Destroyer.

 

[oldcpu]

Naval-news has a recent article on the Lionfish 30mm gun:
LEONARDO Unveils Lionfish 30 Turret at Sea Future 2025

Here is another video on the Lionfish 30mm gun:

A lot of the video depicts other (heavier calibre) Leonardo guns (such as the 127mm vulcano gun) and not just the 30-mm Lionfish gun. The audio thou is dedicated to the 30-mm Lionfish. However the video does have some good clips of the 30mm Lionfish doing test firings.

 

[DAVEBLOGGINS]

Hello "oldcpu". Yes, the Lionfish 30 seems to be an awsome CIWS for the RCN, and there will be 2 of them (port/stb'd) on each River Class Destroyer-(RCD) so a grand total of at least 30+ units. Whether the AOPS and the "future" Kingston Class replacement "Corvettes" will also have this weapon is something for further discusssion.

 

[oldcpu]

I wish there was more information on the payloads.

I note the following link on REPMUS 2025 exercise, with some information on payloads tested with the CAMCOPTER S-100

Areté Demos Next-Gen Maritime Capabilities - Arete

[...]<p><a class="btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link" href="https://arete.com/news-article/arete-demos-next-gen-maritime-capabilities/">Read More...</a></p>

arete.com

Some extracts from that article:

At REPMUS 2025, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 carried a suite of advanced sensors, communication links and AI-assisted data fusion modules. Among the highlights was the CRFS RFeye Node 100-18 LW, a high-fidelity radio frequency intelligence sensor designed to capture spectrum activity up to 18 GHz, collect I/Q data, and enable geolocation in contested electromagnetic conditions. Installed on the CAMCOPTER® S-100, this payload demonstrated its value in delivering actionable intelligence in real time (SIGINT).
....
the CAMCOPTER® S-100 impressed with a series of demonstrations that highlighted its operational maturity and mission versatility:

Bathymetric LiDAR (Areté PILLS/PNGS): In partnership with U.S. company Areté, the S-100 carried the Pushbroom Imaging LiDAR for Littoral Surveillance (PILLS) Next Generation System (PNGS). Doubling performance from legacy 60Hz to 120Hz, the technology delivered enhanced bathymetric and obstacle detection, with successful launch and recovery from a Portuguese Offshore Patrol Vessel.

Oceanwatch PT-8 Maritime Surveillance Sensor: Designed to autonomously detect small objects on the ocean surface across wide areas.

...

and another artcle:

Schiebel CAMCOPTER S-100 Showcases Enhanced Maritime ISR and C2 Capabilities at REPMUS 2025

At NATO’s REPMUS 2025 exercise in Portugal, Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 VTOL UAV demonstrated advanced maritime ISR and C2 capabilities with new sensors and naval integration.

milivox.media

with some extracts from that article:

During REPMUS 2025 trials aboard the Portuguese Navy’s NRP Viana do Castelo offshore patrol vessel (OPV), the CAMCOPTER was equipped with a suite of advanced ISR sensors:

L3Harris WESCAM MX-10 EO/IR turret: Provided high-definition day/night imaging with laser designation capabilities.

AIS receiver: Enabled real-time tracking of maritime traffic in congested littoral zones.

Synthetic Aperture Radar/GMTI module: Though not officially confirmed by Schiebel during this trial phase, past deployments suggest compatibility with PicoSAR or I-Master radars for all-weather detection of surface targets.

The sensor feeds were relayed in real time to onboard command centers via encrypted data links. This allowed operators to cue other assets—including manned helicopters or surface vessels—based on live target tracks generated by the UAV.
...
C4ISR Integration with NATO Networks

A key objective at REPMUS was validating how uncrewed assets like the CAMCOPTER can plug into multinational command-and-control architectures. The S-100 successfully integrated into the Portuguese Navy’s combat management system via standardized interfaces such as STANAG-compliant data formats. Additionally:

The platform supported Link-16 gateway relay functions via shipboard processors.

Sensor data was fused into common operational pictures shared across multiple NATO units participating in amphibious task group maneuvers.
...
Persistent ISR Without Carrier Decks?

This trend could make platforms like the CAMCOPTER indispensable for navies lacking aircraft carriers but seeking persistent ISR capabilities over blue-water or littoral zones—especially when paired with USVs acting as motherships or logistics nodes for rearming/refueling UAVs mid-mission cycle.

... I am curious as to which payloads the Canadian navy end up choosing, where clearly they have a choice of various ones to chose from.
My speculation is selection of the L3Harris WESCAM MX-10 EO/IR turret is a likely payload, and possibly some other payloads.