Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the invitation to appear before you today.
We are pleased to be here to present the findings of our report entitled "The Life Cycle Cost of the Canadian Surface Combatants: A Fiscal Analysis", which we were honoured to prepare at the request of this committee.
With me today I have the lead adviser and analysts for the report, Christopher Penney, Carleigh Busby and Albert Kho.
Consistent with the PBO’s legislated mandate, at the request of this committee, my office prepared an independent cost analysis of the Canadian surface combatant program, including estimates for the development, acquisition, operations and sustainment, and disposal phases of the fleet’s life cycle.
The total life cycle cost of the Canadian surface combatant program, or CSC, is estimated to be $306 billion, with an estimated $4.3 billion for the development phase, $80.2 billion for the acquisition phase, $219.8 billion for the operations and sustainment phase, and $1.7 billion for the disposal phase.
Our latest estimate of $84.5 billion for the development and acquisition phases represents a 9% increase over the $77 billion cost estimate presented in our 2021 report. This increased cost is reflective of changes to protect assumptions and timelines, including an increase in the planned weight of the vessel and a later delivery schedule.
We would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have regarding this report or other work of the Parliamentary Budget Office.