The Assistant Deputy Minister of Materiel for the Defence Department, Troy Crosby, hopes to have a more accurate cost estimate by the end of the year for the 15 new warships planned to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s frigates and destroyers. The government’s most recent estimate in 2017 was around $60 billion, more than double the original $26 billion budget from 2011. Crosby suggests that a new cost estimate will not be available until Irving Shipbuilding submits a formal plan for the first three ships. The warships will replace the Halifax-class frigates and Iroquois-class destroyers, but officials have been questioning the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s projected cost of over $84 billion. The Canadian Surface Combatants will be modeled after the British Type 26, built by Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax. Alongside the shipbuilding plans, the government has requested information on up to 16 P-8 Poseidon surveillance planes, which the government claimed outperformed its current CP-140 Auroras. Crosby denied suggestions that the government is solely making procurements and contests for new weapons are planned.