Canada begins fitting ‘Strongbow’ communications intel equipment on frigates

The new antenna array associated with Project Strongbow is shown here in testing at SwRI’s San Antonio, Texas, facility. (SwRI)

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has begun retrofitting an upgraded communications eavesdropping suite on its 12 Halifax-class frigates under Project Strongbow.

Work has started on the implementation phase, according to Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND), with initial operational capability (IOC) planned for 2025. Initial shipboard installations on three frigates are following now-completed environmental qualification and software regression testing.

Project Strongbow is designed to provide the RCN with an enhanced communications direction finding (COMM DF) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) capability by upgrading the existing AN/SRD-505 communications intelligence system. The new system, designated AN/SRD-506, is to detect and analyse complex radio signals.

The Strongbow project has an approved budget of CAD116 million (USD84.5 million). The main acquisition contract was let in 2020 to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the US-based original equipment manufacturer, reflecting the fact that a significant portion of the legacy COMM DF fit is maintained. For SIGINT technology, the upgrade was acquired non-competitively through a government-to-government contract.

“Work is under way on the first installs to be completed on HMCS Toronto