Thank you for the question.
You said that the submarines are at the end of their life, but that's not quite true. This may be a positive effect of an unfortunate situation, but at the very beginning of their life in Canada, the submarines went to sea less often than was suggested. So their hulls were not exposed to the pressures submarines experience in deep seas.
We now have much more data and knowledge on those submarines. In the plan, we are talking about 10 to 12 additional years for the time being. We are currently conducting studies to determine, based on the maintenance we are providing, to what extent we could prolong those submarines' lifespans.
For the time being, we are mainly trying to determine how much we could extend the lifespans of those submarines and increase their current capacity, considering the use we have made of them so far and the current circumstances. At the same time, given the changing military threat, we want to specify what other changes should be made to the submarines.
That is currently what our main effort is focused on. It could even help extend those submarines' lifespan to 2030, even beyond. It will then be up to the Royal Canadian Navy, the department and the government to come up with replacement plans.