AETE to join testing “centre of excellence” in Ottawa

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  January 21, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, C4ISR

  CAE appoints Todd Probert as group president, Defence and Security

  CAE has announced the appointment of Todd Probert as group president, Defence and Security, effective Jan. 27, 2020. He will be based in Washington, D.C., and is succeeding Gene Colabatistto, who retired from CAE in December 2019. “I am very pleased to welcome Todd Probert to CAE's executive management team, as our new group president, Defence and Security. He is a proven strategic business leader with the right balance of technical, business and international experience in defence and technology,” said Marc Parent, CAE's president and chief executive officer. “Todd's competencies and background are very well aligned with CAE's emphasis on digital innovation and our long-term vision to be the training partner of choice. His ability to drive business growth and create strategic partnerships will bring significant value to our company and our defence customers.” Probert worked for Raytheon, the world's fourth largest defence company, over the past 10 years. Most recently, he was leading the Command, Control, Space and Intelligence business unit as part of Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services segment. In this role, he spearheaded Raytheon's use of commercial software development practices and artificial intelligence for military and intelligence community customers in addition to establishing strategic relationships with Silicon Valley companies. He previously served as the vice-president of Raytheon's Mission Support and Modernization product line where he steadily grew the business during his tenure. He has formed innovative partnerships with leading tech companies to transform the development timelines and delivery of capabilities to the U.S. Department of Defense in areas such as fully open architectures, artificial intelligence and cyber security. He also held the position of vice-president, Engineering and Technology, where he managed the engineering workforce for Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services portfolio. Before joining Raytheon, Probert worked for Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc. (HTSI) in various functions such as strategy and business development, planning and operations, merger and acquisition activities, and he also served as HTSI's chief technology officer. Prior to that, he worked for ANSER, where he led the Space Technology division. In 2019, Probert was named by WashingtonExec as one of the Top 10 Department of Defense (DOD) Executives to Watch based on business accomplishments, impact on the defence community and vision for the future. He also received the 2019 Aviation Week Program Excellence Award in the OEM Sustainment category. Probert holds a master's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University, where he was named Outstanding Aerospace Engineer of the Year in 2017. He has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/cae-appoints-todd-probert-as-group-president-defence-and-security

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  September 25, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Will other firms withdraw from fighter jet competition leaving F-35 last plane standing?

  By DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Shortly before he retired, Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence's procurement chief, told this newspaper there was always a risk that some companies would drop out of the future fighter jet competition but that extra efforts had been made to ensure the process was fair. “We're not getting all kinds of signals that (companies are) losing interest” in bidding, Finn said in an interview July 23. On Aug. 30, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and Airbus Defence and Space informed the Canadian government of their decision to withdraw from Canada's future fighter competition. Airbus had been offering Canada the Eurofighter. At the time the Canadian Press news service reported the Eurofighter withdrawal was a surprise. It wasn't. For the last nine months the various competing firms, Boeing, Airbus and Saab have been sounding the alarm about how the fighter jet process is structured and their worry that it is stacked in favour of the Lockheed Martin F-35. The RCAF, which originally selected the F-35 as the CF-18 replacement before that selection was put on hold by the previous Conservative government because of cost and technical issues, came up with the new requirements. Industry representatives say these requirements highlight the strengths of the F-35 such as stealth and a first strike capability. The primary role of the new fighter jets is to protect North America, or so government officials have said. Lockheed Martin's industry rivals question how stealth and a first strike capability fit into that role. Representatives from Lockheed Martin's competitors have also made overtures to federal officials about their concerns about the procurement process but say they received little response. In early July Reuters news service reported that both Airbus and Boeing were considering dropping out. Airbus followed through on its concerns and as noted decided it wasn't worth competing because of how the process was designed. Last year the European firm Dassault informed the Canadian government it would not be competing in the competition. It had been planning to offer Canada the Rafale fighter jet. There were two key changes in the $19 billion procurement that caused Airbus to leave. One was the decision to change the industrial benefits needed for the program. Airbus was willing to outline and guarantee specific industrial benefits for Canada. That was the way previous defence procurements had worked. But that has been changed because of concerns the U.S. government raised for Lockheed Martin. U.S. officials had warned that the F-35 development agreement Canada signed years ago prohibits partners from imposing requirements for industrial benefits. Although Canada is a partner in the development of the aircraft that does not stipulate it is required to buy the F-35. But under the F-35 agreement, partner nations such as Canada are prohibited from demanding domestic companies receive specific work on the fighter jet. Instead, Canadian firms compete and if they are good enough they receive contracts. Over the last 12 years, Canadian firms have earned more than $1.3 billion in contracts to build F-35 parts. But there are no guarantees. The other problem that Airbus and Rafale faced was linked to the requirement that bidders need to show how their aircraft will integrate into the U.S.-Canada system to defend North America. Airbus would have been required to show how it planned to integrate the Eurofighter Typhoon into the U.S.-Canadian system without knowing the system's full technical details, the Canadian Press news service pointed out. Saab, which is offering Canada the Gripen fighter, could be facing the same problem. Boeing, which is considering offering the Super Hornet, would not have such a problem as its aircraft is being flown by the U.S. military. It is still unclear, however, whether Boeing or Saab will even continue in the competition. Bids must be submitted by the spring of 2020 but there is a growing sense among the defence industry that the F-35 will ultimately be selected as the new aircraft for the RCAF. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/will-other-firms-withdraw-from-fighter-jet-competition-leaving-f-35-last-plane-standing

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  September 24, 2018 | Local, C4ISR, Security

  RCMP's ability to police digital realm 'rapidly declining,' commissioner warned

  Catharine Tunney · CBC News Organized crime is moving online and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is struggling to keep up, according to a briefing note prepared for RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki when she took over the top job earlier this year. The memo, obtained by CBC News under access to information law,​ may launch a renewed battle between the national police service and privacy advocates. "Increasingly, criminality is conducted on the internet and investigations are international in nature, yet investigative tools and RCMP capacity have not kept pace," says the memo tucked into Lucki's briefing book. "Growing expectations of policing responsibilities and accountability, as well as complexities of the criminal justice system, continue to overwhelm the administrative demands within policing." In 2016 nearly 24,000 cybercrime-related cases were reported to Canadian police, up 58 per cent over 2014. The report's authors note that cybercrime tends to be under-reported. Encryption of online data has a been a persistent thorn in the RCMP's side. Lucki's predecessor lobbied the government for new powers to bypass digital roadblocks, including tools to get around encryption and warrantless access to internet subscriber information. "Approximately 70 per cent of all communications intercepted by CSIS and the RCMP are now encrypted ... 80 organized crime groups were identified as using encryption in 2016 alone," says the 274-page document. Some critics have noted that non-criminals — journalists, protesters and academics, among others — also use encryption tools online and have warned any new encryption legislation could undermine the security of financial transactions and daily online communication. Ann Cavoukian was Ontario's privacy commissioner for three terms; she now runs Ryerson University's Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence. She called the RCMP's push for more online policing power "appalling." "I guess we should remind them that we still live in a free and democratic society where people have privacy rights, which means that they should be in control of their personal information," she said. "If you're a law abiding citizen, you get to decide how your information is used and to whom it's disclosed. The police have no right to access your personal information online, unless of course they have a warrant." Lucki was specifically warned about criminal suspects "going dark," a term used to describe the gap between the lawful ability of police forces to obtain online evidence and changing technology. She also was advised the RCMP's court-authorized arsenal (things like court orders and "computer network exploitation techniques," which cover hacking) are "rapidly declining." "Get more efficient," said Cavoukian. Parliamentary committee promises to study issue A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said that "encryption is critical to safeguarding our cybersecurity, privacy and the digital economy." "However, it has also created gaps for law enforcement and national security agencies," wrote Scott Bardsley in an email. Earlier this year, the House of Commons' public safety and national security committee released a 76-page report that recommended "no changes to the lawful access regime for subscriber information and encrypted information be made." But the committee didn't shelve the issue, promising instead to study the evolving challenges. "The government will support the standing committee on national security and public safety in its continued work to study these and other emerging technological issues related to cybersecurity," wrote Bardsley. "It will also continue to examine options to ensure agencies have the resources necessary to gain access to decrypted data required to address criminal activity." Cavoukian predicts "a real fight" over the issue. Bardsley says the government has pledged $116 million over five years, and $23.2 million per year after that, to help create the national cybercrime coordination unit, which would help "provide digital investigative advice and guidance to Canadian law enforcement." The RCMP didn't meet CBC's deadline for a comment. Attrition issues The briefing binder also flags the RCMP's persistent problem with replenishing its ranks when officers retire or otherwise leave the force. "The RCMP has a growing vacancy rate that exceeds its present ability to produce regular members at a rate that keeps pace with projected future demands," it warns. As of April 2018, there were 1,122 funded vacant regular member positions —a vacancy rate of 5.6 per cent. That's down slightly from the previous year, when the vacancy rate was 6.6 per cent. The briefing note says that in the last five years, there has been a "dramatic" increase in the number of new recruits needed to fill operational vacancies and evolving program requirements. About 1,280 cadets were expected to be enrolled in 2018-2019, up from 1,152 the previous year. In 2016, CBC News reported that the RCMP was dropping its requirement that applicants be Canadian citizens, and that it would accept applications from permanent residents. The RCMP also loosened entrance requirements to deal with a wave of retirements, low pay and the need to expand its pool of potential new officers. Starting this month, the RCMP is dropping its requirement that applicants must be Canadian citizens. It will now accept permanent residents. Post-secondary graduates no longer will have to write an entrance exam that measures aptitude for police work and the force will no longer require a physical abilities evaluation before people submit an application. With files from the CBC's Kathleen Harris. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lucki-briefing-binde-cybercrime-1.4831340