Canada. Dept. of National Defence. Project Management Office Canadian Patrol Frigate : The Canadian Patrol Frigate Project was launched to design a general-purpose, helicopter carrying ship that could be deployed in many capacities. The first of these ships was deployed in the mid-1990s.
The CPF Project was the culmination of a process initiated in the late 1960s that was intended to replace the ageing steam-driven St. Laurent class of destroyers. Major
planning steps to achieve this goal began in November 1977. A Request for Proposal
(RFP) was released to industry in 1978 and five contenders responded providing their
preliminary designs in a funded competitive definition phase.
The contract to build six new Frigates was awarded to the prime contractor in July l983. The design and integration of the Frigates' combat and control systems was subcontracted to a new Canadian firm. In addition, a subcontract was awarded to build
three of the first six Frigates. The CPF contract was subsequently amended in 1987 to include the construction of an additional six Frigates - all built by the prime contractor - for a total of 12.
The CPF Project was the largest defence capital procurement ever undertaken by DND. The total project funding approved by Treasury Board (TB) was $10.436B (forecasted BY$), with a funding time line from 1983 to 1998. To accommodate actual escalation rates, the total budget was subsequently adjusted by the CPF PMO to approximately $9.37B. The Project involved two phases: the first, approved by TB in 1983, authorized the construction of six Frigates to replace the St. Laurent class of destroyer - for a project cost of $5.435B - with the last ship to be delivered in 1992; the second, approved in December 1987, authorized the construction of six more Frigates and additional funding of $4.982B. The last ship was contracted to be delivered in 1996.
The Project involved personnel from DND, PWGSC, Industry Canada, as well as prime contractors and sub-contractors. During its peak, the CPF Project employed almost 500 personnel within the Project Management Office (PMO) and its detachments. Several thousand contract personnel were involved in the delivery of the CPF.
