The Canadian Maritime Force purchased the four Victoria (formerly Upholder) class diesel-electric submarines from the British Royal Navy. They replace the decommissioned Oberon Class, the last of which was retired in July 2000. The surface speed of the Victoria class is 12 knots and when submerged can attain 20 knots. These submarines have a patrol endurance of 56 days.

"The updating work that shall be performed on Canada's Victoria class submarines is a continuation of the technology upgrade process Lockheed Martin has implemented in the U.S. submarine force," said Charles A. Cantello, vice president of sensors & advanced programs for Lockheed Martin Undersea Systems.

Lockheed Martin pioneered the use of open systems architecture and commercial off-the-shelf equipment for its submarine combat systems integration work on the U.S. Navy's Virginia, Seawolf and Los Angeles class submarines. This open architecture enables navies to upgrade systems with new commercial technology and capabilities for enhanced performance at a greatly reduced cost over the life of the submarine. This approach has also been applied within the Lockheed Martin proprietary SFCS installed in the Canadian Victoria class submarines.

In addition to its work for the U.S. Navy, Lockheed Martin has integrated submarine weapons control systems on 32 submarines for the United Kingdom, Australia, Greece, Egypt and India. In December 2005, Lockheed Martin received a contract to work with Navantia and other Spanish industrial leaders to develop an advanced combat system for the Spain's new S-80A diesel submarine.

Navantia has also asked Lockheed Martin to expand its role in the development of the core combat system to include other significant elements such as the weapon control unit (WCU) for the new S-80A submarine.

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