Iroquois Class Destroyer - TRUMP Modifications

TRUMP Modifications

The entire class underwent major retrofits as a part of the Tribal Class Update and Modernization Project (TRUMP) in the early 1990s. These refits had the effect of re-purposing the ships for area air defence; following TRUMP the Iroquois-class were referred to as air defence destroyers. Their former anti-submarine role was largely transferred to the Halifax-class frigates.

The main weapon of the new design is the Mk.41 VLS, firing 29 SM-2 Block III long-range anti-aircraft missiles. To provide room for the VLS, the original 5-in L54 gun was replaced with the smaller, but much faster firing, Oto Melara 76 mm gun, relocated from the deck to the bridgework above it. A Phalanx CIWS was also added for self-defence. The torpedo tubes were retained, but the Limbo and Sea Sparrow systems were removed.

The modernization also replaced the original Pratt & Whitney FT-12 cruise turbines with newer 12,788 shp 570-KF engines from Allison. The speed remained the same, however, as the weight had increased to 5,100 tons full load. The original split funnel was replaced by a simpler single one, as the exhaust proved not to be a problem.

The TRUMP was intended to be a stop-gap measure, since the radar systems on these ships are outdated. Following TRUMP, the Iroquois-class were intended to be decommissioned by 2010. Defence budget cuts during the mid-1990s resulted in Huron being left without a crew. Huron was paid off in 2005, and sunk in a live-fire exercise in 2007 by her sister ship Algonquin.

There was some preliminary work on a replacement design that was informally termed the Province class. This was confined largely to studies of a much-improved phased array radar system being developed for the Royal Netherlands Navy and German Navy known as APAR. Speculation had been that the ships to replace the Iroquois class destroyers would have been similar to an enlarged Halifax-class frigate. Such a design would have had a multi-role capability similar to the Arleigh Burke class destroyer.

The replacement for the Iroquois class is now known to Canadian naval observers as the Single Class Surface Combatant Project and this project has been included in the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, announced in October 2011. The new vessels will replace both the Iroquois class destroyers and the Halifax class frigates beginning in the late 2010s. Under the NSPS, the federal government has awarded the combat vessel package to Irving Shipbuilding and includes construction of 15 warships.