The key to this order battle is not ‘who can build a better submarine?’ but ‘who can completely fill Canada’s maintenance gap.’ The Canadian government is keenly aware of the maintenance burden caused by the aging of existing Victoria-class submarines, and has allocated more than half of the project evaluation to building infrastructure to efficiently operate 12 new submarines. In response to this, Hanwha Ocean launched a strategy to build maintenance bases on both the eastern and western coasts through cooperation with local construction companies in Canada. This is a strategic approach to strengthen Canada's 'sovereign capacity' beyond simple technology transfer, and is intended to provide an answer to Canada's maintenance infrastructure concerns. In fact, Canadian defense authorities emphasize that approximately 70% of submarine life cycle costs arise from maintenance, and specify the establishment of a localized maintenance system as the most important selection condition.

Korea's powerful weapons are by far its 'overwhelming delivery speed' and 'practical operational capabilities'. Based on the proven performance of the KSS-III Batch-II submarines operated by the Korean Navy, Hanwha Ocean proposed an aggressive schedule to deliver four ships by 2035 when signing the contract. In particular, the recent demonstration of technological reliability through the 'Submarine Showcase', in which a Korean Navy submarine crossed the Pacific Ocean and entered a Canadian base, gave Hanwha Ocean a great boost. On the other hand, German TKMS takes advantage of the strong alliance of NATO standards with its 212CD model. This model, which is being jointly developed by Germany and Norway, is in line with Canada's security strategy in that it can maximize interoperability between NATO member countries in future parts procurement, training systems, and logistics support.

Another point to watch before ordering is the enormous ‘industrial package’ presented by the two countries. Canada's Mark Carney government hopes that the introduction of this submarine will serve as a catalyst for reviving the country's manufacturing industry and creating jobs. Hanwha Ocean took aim at Canada's economic needs by presenting an economic contribution plan worth 144 trillion won, encompassing hydrogen truck production, automobile parts cooperation, steel and finance sectors. Not to be outdone, Germany responded by promising to contribute 86 billion Canadian dollars to GDP and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Both countries are engaged in a fierce battle, emphasizing that they are strategic partners who will work together to build Canada's artificial intelligence, aerospace, and clean technology ecosystem beyond simple arms exporters.

The final variable is geopolitical dynamics and alliance order. As a key member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Canada will prioritize alliance solidarity with Germany in an international situation of increasing security uncertainty, or will choose a new partner, Korea, to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. It is very encouraging that the British company Babcock recently publicly supported cooperation with Hanwha Ocean to complement Korea's weakness in 'Non-NATO'. Nevertheless, the reason the Canadian government is extremely reticent ahead of the final announcement is because this project is a complex issue that goes beyond military procurement and can determine Canada's foreign policy and the political success or failure of the next government.