Canada Breaks Ground on River-Class Test Facility

Canada has moved a key dependency of its future surface fleet out of the planning phase and into execution.

In November 2025, the Department of National Defence began full construction of a Land-Based Test Facility at Hartlen Point in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, a shore-based complex designed to integrate and commission combat systems for the Royal Canadian Navy’s new River-class destroyers. With early site preparation complete and structural work now underway, the project has entered a delivery phase that directly underpins the destroyer program’s schedule. Completion is expected in early 2028.

PCL Construction of Dartmouth is leading the build, which National Defence says will sustain approximately 200 jobs over the life of the project. Defence Construction Canada is acting as the contracting authority.

Meet the facility

The Land-Based Test Facility is designed to do work that would be risky, expensive, or impractical to do for the first time at sea.

Modern surface combatants rely on highly complex, tightly integrated combat systems. For the River-class destroyers, those systems must be assembled, tested, and commissioned on land before being installed aboard ship. The facility provides a controlled environment where integration issues can be identified early, reducing cost, schedule, and technical risk once the ships enter the water.

National Defence has been explicit that this is not a weapons testing site. Its role is systems integration, verification, and readiness, rather than live-fire activity.

The main building will span roughly 12,567 square metres across two floors and a topside, with an approximate footprint of 9,100 square metres. The broader project area covers about 10 hectares and includes access roads, security zones beyond the fence line, and stormwater infrastructure.

Why Hartlen Point

Hartlen Point was selected for a mix of operational and practical reasons. The site is already owned by National Defence, meets security requirements, and offers sufficient space to consolidate all required systems in a single location.

Its coastal position is equally critical. The site supports a 130-degree live transmission arc over the ocean, a technical requirement for testing the River-class destroyers’ combat systems under realistic conditions.

To maintain schedule alignment while ship and system designs matured, site preparation began well ahead of full construction. Work completed since 2023 includes roadway access, grading, extension of municipal services, culvert installation, excavation and backfilling, foundations, retaining walls, and core concrete structures. That phased approach allowed the project to transition directly into full construction without delaying the broader program.

Why it matters

Canada is procuring 15 River-class destroyers to replace the Halifax-class frigates and the retired Iroquois-class destroyers, forming the backbone of the future surface fleet of the Royal Canadian Navy.

Without a dedicated land-based integration facility, much of the commissioning and troubleshooting work would need to occur aboard ship, increasing cost and introducing schedule risk at a critical point in the program. The Land-Based Test Facility is intended to de-risk that process and support a smoother entry into service.

From a policy perspective, the project also aligns with broader defence priorities, including increased NATO spending, long-term sustainment of advanced capabilities, and improved interoperability with allies. More practically, it represents tangible infrastructure that enables those objectives.

What’s next

The Land-Based Test Facility is the first major shore-side infrastructure project supporting the River-class destroyers, but it will not be the last. Additional facilities are expected over time, including jetties, warehouses, and training infrastructure to support the fleet once it enters service.

For now, construction at Hartlen Point marks a quiet but consequential milestone. The ships will draw the headlines, but facilities like this are what allow modern naval programs to move from design to operational reality.