Kingston-class coastal defence vessel
HMCS Brandon (MM 710)
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kingston class |
| Builders: | Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax |
| Operators: |
 Royal Canadian Navy
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| Preceded by: | Anticosti class |
| In commission: | 21 September 1996–present |
| Completed: | 12 |
| Active: | 7–12? |
| Laid up: | 5 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Coastal defence vessel |
| Displacement: | 970 t (970.0 t) |
| Length: | 55.3 m (181.43 ft) |
| Beam: | 11.3 m (37.07 ft) |
| Draught: | 3.4 m (11.15 ft) |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 15 kn (27.78 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000 nmi (9,260.00 km) |
| Complement: | 31 to 47 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: |
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The Kingston class consists of 12 coastal defence vessels operated by the Royal Canadian Navy.
The class is the name for the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project (MCDV). These multi-role vessels were built and launched from the mid- to late-1990s and are crewed by a combination of Naval Reserve and Regular-Force personnel.
Their main missions are counter narcotics, coastal surveillance, sovereignty patrol, route survey, and training. They were designed with a minesweeping role in mind and are consequently classified as mechanical minesweepers (MM); however, this role has diminished as a result of the evolving nature of mine warfare. The possibility of acquiring the gear necessary to undertake a more appropriate mine-hunting role continues to be examined.
The Kingston-class patrol vessels were conceived to advance the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment and construction techniques in a ship designed to military specifications.
While the Z-drive thrusters make the Kingston-class vessels extremely manoeuvrable (able to turn within their own shiplength) and the engines are quite powerful and fuel-efficient, the hull shape, with a blunt stern and "hard" chine designed for minesweeping, prevents the ship from achieving a "sprint" speed and the patrol vessels of other nations are considerably faster. However, the Kingstons' top speed is faster than that of most mine warfare vessels and is comparable to some small civilian seagoing vessels.
The hull is a longitudinally framed structure and has been designed to minimize steel weight. The construction involved initial production of partially outfitted steel modules which were made into sub-assemblies and then integrated into the ship. The decks were assembled upside down with pre-outfitting of the underside of the deck prior to installation on the ship. In contrast to many modern mine warfare vessels, which often have hulls made of non-magnetic glass-reinforced plastic or similar material, the Kingston class have conventional steel hulls. The vessels are no longer equipped with a magnetic degaussing system that allows the ship's magnetic signature to be manipulated in three dimensions to minimize vulnerability to magnetic mines
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Wikipedia