ANALYSIS | New defence spending goals, timing of Ukraine's admission to NATO expected to dominate summit | CBC News

On the same subject

• 

  June 11, 2019 | Local, Aerospace, Security

  Bidding criteria for Canada's $19B fighter jet competition will emphasize strategic attack and ground-strike capabilities — seeming to favour the F-35

  David Pugliese The criteria that will govern the selection of the winning bid to provide Canada's next fleet of fighter jets will prioritize strategic attack and foreign ground-strike capabilities, according to government documents obtained by Postmedia — guidelines that are seen to favour Lockheed Martin's controversial F-35. In 2010 the Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper selected the F-35 to replace the Canadian Forces' aging CF-18s, but later abandoned the plan after concerns about the technology used for the plane and its growing cost. During the 2015 election campaign Justin Trudeau promised that a Liberal government would not purchase the F-35, at the same time vowing to hold an open competition for the purchase of the country's new jet. Once in office, however, the Liberals backed away from their promise to freeze out the F-35 and the aircraft is now seen as a front-runner in the upcoming competition, with many supporters in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Though the Liberal government has highlighted the need to buy new jets to protect Canadian airspace and meet the country's commitments to NORAD, the procurement criteria obtained by Postmedia, currently in draft form, indicate the bidding process will assign additional weight to aircraft that excel at ground attack for overseas operations. Those criteria are seen to favour Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jet, say industry representatives allied with Lockheed's rivals in the upcoming $19-billion competition. The evaluation criteria also place less emphasis on sustainability — something else that may play to the advantage of the F-35, which has been dogged by high maintenance bills. But Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence's procurement chief, says there is such a wide variety of requirements to meet in the competition that while some aircraft might be seen to do well in some areas, they may not excel in others. “Somebody may be better in a high-end scenario but they're worst for cost,” Finn explained. “That's why we say it's the whole piece” that will be considered in the competition. At this point four aircraft are expected to be considered: two U.S.-built aircraft, the F-35, and the Super Hornet, and two European planes, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Gripen. Finn said bidding companies must meet mandatory requirements when it comes to long-term sustainment of the planes. But industry representatives, both from Lockheed Martin rivals and those not directly involved in the competition, point out that beyond the mandatory requirements there is little emphasis on the important area of long-term maintenance and sutainability. So a company with an aircraft that costs relatively little to maintain won't get that recognition in the competition, they claimed. Finn said discussions are still ongoing with various companies and their feedback is being assessed. The request for proposals, which will outlined the final requirements for the aircraft, is expected to be released around mid-July, he added. Royal Canadian Air force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger said key capabilities for a new plane are survivability and having an operational advantage. “We are very confident we are actually meeting the requirements of NATO and NORAD,” he said, pointing to the requirements for the new aircraft. “Both of those missions are well represented.” Canada already changed some of the industrial benefits criteria of the competition in May to satisfy concerns from the U.S. government that the F-35 would be penalized or couldn't be considered because of how that program was set up. U.S. officials had warned that the F-35 development agreement Canada signed years ago prohibits partner nations from imposing requirements for industrial benefits. Under the F-35 agreement, partner nations such as Canada are prohibited from demanding domestic companies receive contracts for work on the fighter jet, those companies instead having to compete for work. Over the last 12 years, Canadian firms have earned more than $1.3 billion in contracts to build F-35 parts. The changes made in May would now allow some of those F-35 contracts to be considered when weighing the industrial benefits offered by the planes. The winning bidder will build 88 jets for Canada, and the first delivery is expected in the mid-2020s with the full capability available in the early 2030s, according to documents produced by the Department of National Defence. https://nationalpost.com/news/bidding-criteria-for-canadas-19b-fighter-jet-competition-will-emphasize-strategic-attack-and-ground-strike-capabilities-seeming-to-favour-the-f-35

• 

  March 16, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Canadian military bans international travel in response to COVID-19

  Routine operations and patrols within Canada will continue The Canadian military has banned all foreign travel and ordered non-essential personnel to stay home — part of its sweeping response to the global outbreak of COVID-19. A formal order — known as a CANFORGEN — was issued Friday after a preliminary warning order was issued to units across the country the day before. In an interview, the country's top military commander also said a handful of troops who recently returned from an overseas operation have voluntarily gone into self-isolation at the military airbase in Bagotville, Que., but they are not considered "presumptive cases." Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance confirmed that only one member of the military — a naval reservist — is in hospital in Spain after being formally diagnosed with the illness. 'Miltary operations will continue' He said those returning from deployment and leave outside of Canada will be ordered to self-isolate. "We're trying, at this point in time, to pause all things, but necessary military operations will continue," Vance said. The new travel ban will mean that the few thousand troops now serving on deployments, exercises and exchange positions will not be allowed to leave the countries where they are operating. Reservists, who serve part-time, are being encouraged to abstain from personal travel outside of Canada. Bases will be closed to visitors, including foreign delegations. Military training schools will restrict new entrants and those already on course will be confined to base. "While at home, or on leave, in Canada, I'm asking members to adopt an approach that protects themselves and their family from the virus," Vance said. "I expect our command and control headquarters to continue operations, albeit at reduced levels, and some units will be able to stand down to essential administration and command functions only." 'Ships will still sail and planes will still fly' Routine operations and patrols within Canada will continue, as normal. "Ships will still sail and planes will still fly," said Lt.-Col. Dave Devenney, a spokesman for the defence chief. "Our job is to stay healthy, preserve the force and be prepared to fight." Dave Perry, a defence analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said the orders are meant not only to halt the spread of the virus but to give the military flexibility to respond if the civilian health care system or vital infrastructure becomes overwhelmed. "The military is pre-positioning if they are called out to help the government in any significant way," he said. Troops could be deployed with transport and communications to help frontline health workers, such as the people doing virus screening. "People at the frontline of the pandemic could require a host of supports," Perry said. An order for federal government workers to stay home also could put a strain on some parts of the country's telecommunications grid. "The military has independent communications that can work around that securely," Perry added. The order follows on a series of measures the military has taken in response to the unfolding pandemic crisis. Travel to China was banned shortly after the novel coronavirus became a major issue in Asia. THE LATEST Coronavirus: Here's what's happening in Canada and around the world on March 13 Government warns against all international travel, limits inbound flights to stop spread of COVID-19 A week ago, Vance said the military had started "pre-pandemic planning" by issuing orders that gave base commanders the authority to cancel large public gatherings, restrict all non-essential travel and enforce higher standards of personal hygiene. At that time, Vance said federal officials, under a worst-case scenario, were prepared for an absentee rate among government workers of 25 per cent and that the military is looking at a similar number. He added that the best defence is to not get sick at all. The biggest issue the Department of National Defence has faced thus far has been the civilian travel restrictions, which have hampered the movement of personnel. It also has prevented the full resumption of the military training mission in Iraq, a senior commander told a parliamentary committee this week. There is concern for the forces operating in war zones like Iraq, where the health care system lies in ruins. As of Thursday, Iraq reported 74 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and eight fatalities. Approximately one-quarter of the country's cases are known to be in the northern Kurdistan region, where Canadian special forces troops have been conducting an advise-and-assist mission to help root out the remaining extremist holdouts after the fall of the Islamic State. The country's second-largest city, Mosul, was largely destroyed by the fighting. The Canadian measures differ from those being imposed by the Pentagon, which as of today is barring all troops, family members and defence civilian employees from traveling to afflicted countries, including Italy, South Korea, and China, for the next 60 days. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/military-travel-halted-covid-19-1.5496537

• 

  April 21, 2023 | Local, Land

  Canada buying gasoline, sniper rifles and radios for Ukraine | CBC News

  Canada is buying gasoline and sniper rifles for Ukraine ? part of the?latest military assistance package announced Friday?by Defence Minister Anita Anand at a meeting of allies in Europe.