January 4, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
Moving the Canadian military's Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment out of Cold Lake to Ottawa is the only way 4 Wing can grow to accommodate new fighters, says AETE commanding officer Col. Eric Grandmont, referring to feasibility studies conducted by the Air Force.
He said the loss of AETE will be offset by a gain for 4 Wing.
“We are planning ahead for the long-term future of Canada's fighters,” he said. “The RCAF is committed to Cold Lake and Bagotville as our fighter bases, and there will be significant investment in these areas to prepare for the arrival of the future fighters.”
The new aircraft will require an expansion of 4 Wing. Facilities will need to be updated and the current AETE building, which is the newest and second largest hanger on the base, will need to be repurposed.
Canada is currently in the process of purchasing 25 used fighter aircraft from Australia and buying another 88 new jets to replace the existing fleet of CF-18s.
The costs for relocating AETE are included in the $470 million the Liberal government has set aside for buying the used Australian F-18 fighter jets.
Grandmont said he is hoping the transition plan for AETE will be approved by this spring.
The move, which would not take place before the summer of 2021, could affect one-third of AETE, which employs 166 military personnel and 22 public servants.
The remainder would be reassigned elsewhere in the air force, either in Cold Lake or other military bases.
“We are trying to minimize the impact on the city,” said Grandmont, adding the current plan is to stagger his staff's moves to Ottawa.
He said some of the positions in question are currently vacant and, if filled, those employees would start their jobs immediately in the nation's capital instead of coming to Cold Lake in the interim.
Also, some public servants currently working for AETE in Cold Lake are close to retirement and would likely choose to end their careers and stay in Alberta's north instead of moving to Ottawa.
Grandmont says once the unit relocates it will augment its staff with civilian test pilots.
“We are hoping to recruit retired members back to the unit once it's in Ottawa,” said Grandmont, adding that moving AETE would put the unit in a central position to service all Canadian Forces aircraft, many of which are in Eastern Canada.
“Our people spend a lot of time on the road. They can be away for five or six months a year,” said Grandmont.
Recently, some AETE personnel spent seven months in Petawawa, Ont. doing the work necessary to have two Chinooks available to send to Mali, where Canada has been providing emergency medical evacuation for the United Nations peacekeeping mission going on in that country.
There are 19 fleets in the Canadian Air Force and only two of them are in Cold Lake—the CF-18 and the Griffon helicopters, said Grandmont.
Other aircraft, like the CC-130J Hercules, CC-17 Globemaster and CC-150 Polaris are all based in Trenton, Ont. The CC-144 Challengers are in Ottawa. The CP-140 Aurora and the CH-149 Cormorants are in Greenwood, NS. The CH-148 Cyclones are in Shearwater, NS, The CH-147F Chinooks are in Petawawa, Ont. There are CC-138 Twin Otters are in Yellowknife.
AETE, like all units in the Air Force, is facing a shortage of pilots. Recruiting multiengine pilots from Eastern Canada is a challenge for AETE, and a CC-130H Hercules pilot based in Winnipeg does not necessarily want to uproot his or her family to Cold Lake where his or her spouse would have limited options for employment, as well as restricted access to health care.
“Although once people get to Cold Lake, they usually enjoy their time here,” said Grandmont. “It is a beautiful area.”
AETE has also been losing personnel to private industry, which can offer better working conditions for experienced testers.
Postmedia first revealed the proposal to move AETE in 2016. The plan first started under the Conservative government, but the Liberals continued with the relocation initiative.
-With files from David Pugliese
(Disclosure: The editor of the Cold Lake Sun is married to a member of AETE.)
June 26, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
Il y aura beaucoup de latitude pour calculer les retombées économiques découlant de l’achat des 88 avions de chasse F-35 par Ottawa pour 19 milliards. Selon une présentation gouvernementale consultée par La Presse, les ententes entre le Canada et les constructeurs des avions de combat sont « non contractuelles », donc pas régies par un contrat.
October 18, 2018 | Local, Naval
OTTAWA — Canada's most expensive military project is entering a critical new phase as the government is on the verge of picking its top design for the country's $60-billion fleet of new warships. Defence insiders say the government wants to select a design by the end of the month from among three options submitted by several of the largest defence and shipbuilding companies in the world. After that the government and Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding, which will actually build the 15 new warships, will sit down with the selected bidder to hammer out the final cost and other details. The stakes will be high for both sides, with hundreds of millions of dollars in play. There will also be pressure to make up for lost time on a project already running behind schedule even though whatever decisions are taken could have ramifications on the navy — and taxpayers — for decades to come. "That's part of the tension between moving quickly and making the right choice," said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. The new warships will replace the navy's 12 frigates and three destroyers, the latter of which have already been retired. They will be used for most of this century. Launched in late 2016, the design competition has been the subject of rampant lobbying and complaints by defence industry players, with numerous revisions to the original request for bids and several deadline extensions. That was despite defence officials and Irving having previously warned that time is of the essence when it comes to starting construction, and that they want to shave 18 to 24 months off the project. There have also been questions about Irving's role in the competition, and anger from some companies that British firm BAE was allowed to enter its Type 26 vessel despite the ship having never been built. BAE and U.S.-based defence giant Lockheed Martin partnered together to propose the Type 26 for the design competition, which is up against separate proposals from Dutch firm Alion and Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. A joint French-Italian design was disqualified because Paris-based Naval Group and Italian firm Fincantieri, who promised to build the warships faster and for less than anyone else, did not follow the established process for submitting proposals. One of the big questions heading into the negotiations will be how much the selected design needs to be changed to reflect the navy's needs and how much the navy will have to shift its requirements because changing the design will take more time and money. Irving has warned that it could be forced to lay off hundreds of employees because of a production gap if work on the warships isn't ready to start by the time it finishes building the navy's new Arctic patrol ships in 2021 or 2022. Government negotiators are also facing a battle over the amount of intellectual property that the top bidder will be required to hand over, which Ottawa wants so it can operate and maintain the vessels on its own after they are built. Companies had originally been told that the winner would be required to turn over the full blueprints, but after significant resistance, the two sides agreed that the matter would be negotiated before a contract is awarded. The government however warned that if the winning ship designer drives too hard a bargain on the intellectual property front they face the risk of officials pulling the plug on talks and moving on to the next company. Perry said that while there are many challenges ahead before a deal for a design is signed — and before any of the new warships actually get into the water — this is a critical step forward. "You can't dance until you pick a dance partner," he said. — Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter. Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/feds-aiming-to-select-preferred-design-for-60b-warships-by-end-of-month-250594/
February 16, 2021 | Local, Land
SOUCY INTERNATIONAL Inc. (DEFENSE DIVISION) AWARDED CONTRACT TO INTEGRATE SEGMENTED COMPOSITE RUBBER TRACK ON TO U.S ARMY OMFV TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATOR 11 February 2021 – Drummondville QC Canada, Soucy International Defense Division, has been awarded a contract to manufacture and deliver prototype Segmented Composite Rubber Track (SCRT) systems for the U.S Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) as part of the Platform Electrification and Mobility (PEM) project This project has been created to help develop, integrate and test essential electrification and mobility technologies necessary for soldier experimentation of manned and unmanned Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) platforms. Within the NGCV program, there is the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) and the Robotically Controlled Vehicle (RCV). Soucy will refine existing SCRT technology as part of the OMFV Demonstrator within the PEM program that is aimed to achieve its goal of silent mobility, reduce track system weight compared to conventional steel tracks, reduce rolling resistance, and ease maintenance and logistical burden. One of the major technical objectives of the PEM project is to provide silent mobility for a 50-ton tracked vehicle. Continuous composite rubber track (CRT) solutions provide significant noise and vibration reduction compared to a typical steel track. Soucy CRT has made great improvements over the last 15 years, with the continuous, single loop design providing significant reductions in weight; vibration; acoustic and thermal signature; increased fuel efficiency, and ease of maintenance, allowing for reduced logistical support. Segmentation of a composite rubber track could potentially further reduce soldier physical maintenance burden, vehicle installation time, and ease overall sustainment challenges in a contested operational environment. This prototype will allow the United States (US) Army and Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) to evaluate demonstrated options of different track systems for the OMFV program. -ends- Media Contacts: Angeline Heckel-Elies, Soucy Defense Division, +1 (819) 474 4522, Angeline.heckel-elies@soucy-group.com About CRT Tracks Increased durability over conventional steel tracks. Reduced vibration (up to 70%), noise (up to 13dB), thermal signature, braking distance, vehicle weight (up to 50%) and fuel consumption (up to 30%). Reduced vehicle crew fatigue. Significant reduction in life cycle costs and virtually maintenance free. Elimination of damage to infrastructure. About Soucy Soucy has been established for 50 years and specialize in the design, development, and manufacturing of CRT. Soucy supply a variety of components and parts for major manufacturers of power sport, industrial, agricultural and Defense vehicles around the world. Since entering the Defense market 26 years ago, the demand for Soucy's products has grown, and now being utilised in 12 counties worldwide. Soucy's expertise and knowledge of rubber track applications lie in compounding and track construction. The key elements in exceeding the specifications of traditional Steel Tracks and meeting customer requirements is the relationship between the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and rubber heat generation, this balance is critical in the design of CRT. www.soucy-defense.com