The River-class destroyer is Canada's future guided-missile destroyer class, a 15-ship Royal Canadian Navy program based on BAE Systems' Type 26 Global Combat Ship and built through Irving Shipbuilding with Lockheed Martin Canada as design lead. Current official fact sheets describe a SPY-7/Aegis combat-system architecture, a 24-cell Mk 41 vertical launch battery for SM-2, ESSM, and Tomahawk missiles, Naval Strike Missile, Rolling Airframe Missile, Mk 54 torpedoes, and a CH-148 Cyclone aviation facility.
Exact model: River-class destroyer, the Royal Canadian Navy's Type 26-based Canadian Surface Combatant. Official Canadian sources place the lead ship under construction with delivery expected in the early 2030s, and no direct combat-use record is available.
The 2026 Royal Canadian Navy fact sheet describes the River-class armament as a layered missile, gun, torpedo, and aviation fit centered on a 24-cell Mk 41 vertical launch system and shipboard helicopter facilities.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Area air-defense missile | The RCN fact sheet lists Raytheon Standard Missile-2 as the River-class area air-defense missile for the bow vertical launch system. |
 | Point-defense missile | The RCN fact sheet lists Raytheon Evolved Sea Sparrow as the River-class point-defense missile carried in the bow weapons fit. |
 | Naval fires missile | The RCN fact sheet lists Raytheon Tomahawk for naval fires support in the River-class bow weapons fit. |
 | Embarked maritime helicopter | The RCN fact sheet lists one CH-148 Cyclone helicopter and space for remotely piloted systems in the River-class aviation facilities. |
The River-class sensor and command suite combines SPY-7, Aegis, the Canadian Tactical Interface, Cooperative Engagement Capability, and underwater-warfare sensors.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Solid-state 3D AESA radar | The RCN fact sheet identifies the LM SPY-7 solid-state 3D AESA radar as the River-class surveillance and weapon sensor radar. |
The River-class design concentrates air defence, land-attack, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and aviation functions in one large surface combatant rather than splitting them across separate destroyer and frigate classes.
| Layer | Documented equipment | Role in the ship |
|---|---|---|
| Air and missile defence | SPY-7 radar, Aegis Combat System with Canadian Tactical Interface, Cooperative Engagement Capability, SM-2, ESSM, and Rolling Airframe Missile | Provides long-range surveillance, sensor networking, area air defence, point defence, and close-in defence. |
| Strike and surface warfare | Tomahawk, Naval Strike Missile, BAE 127 mm gun, and two stabilized 30 mm guns | Gives the class land-attack, anti-ship, naval fires, and close surface-engagement options. |
| Underwater warfare | S2087 towed low-frequency active/passive sonar, S2150 hull-mounted sonar, SEA SENTOR torpedo countermeasures, sonobuoy processing, and Mk 54 torpedoes | Builds the Type 26 lineage around anti-submarine search, tracking, self-protection, and attack functions. |
| Aviation and mission bay | CH-148 Cyclone facilities, remotely piloted systems space, multi-role boats, and modular mission-support capacity | Extends surveillance, anti-submarine, boarding, and off-board mission options beyond the ship itself. |
Sources: River-Class Destroyer Fact Sheet (2026); River-class destroyer overview.
The Government of Canada and Irving Shipbuilding identified Lockheed Martin Canada as the preferred bidder for the future Canadian Surface Combatants.
Sources: River-class Destroyer Project
Canada announced the selection of Lockheed Martin Canada for the design team, with the winning bid based on the BAE Systems Type 26 Global Combat Ship.
Sources: River-class Destroyer Project
Canada celebrated the start of construction activities for the Canadian Surface Combatants and announced that the new fleet would be known as River-class destroyers.
Sources: Construction begins for River-class destroyers
The Government of Canada awarded Irving Shipbuilding the Batch 1 construction contract covering the first three River-class destroyers.
Sources: River-class destroyer construction contract, River-class Destroyer Project
The River-class Destroyer Project entered full-rate production on the first ship.
Sources: River-class Destroyer Project
Canada held the ceremonial keel laying for the first River-class destroyer, the future HMCS Fraser, at Halifax Shipyard.
Sources: River-class destroyer keel laying
Canada's first implementation contract covers the initial three River-class destroyers. The names link the new class to waterways reaching the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans and to earlier Royal Canadian Navy ships.
| Ship | Batch context | Status or naming context |
|---|---|---|
| HMCS Fraser | Lead River-class destroyer | Keel-laying ceremony held at Halifax Shipyard on 2026-06-12; delivery expected in the early 2030s. |
| HMCS Saint-Laurent | Initial three-ship batch | Named in 2024 as one of the first three River-class ships. |
| HMCS Mackenzie | Initial three-ship batch | Named in 2024 as one of the first three River-class ships. |
Sources: Construction begins for River-class destroyers; River-class destroyer keel laying; River-class Destroyer Project.
