October 8, 2019 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
By DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
It's not much of a surprise that defence and security issues aren't a factor in this federal election.
Despite the concerns of various commentators and analysts, the political parties can safely ignore those topics.
Even though billions of dollars are to be spent on the future purchase of military equipment, and Canada is engaged in training missions in Ukraine, Latvia and Iraq, the average Canadian doesn't appear to care all that much about such topics.
That doesn't mean that such a viewpoint is right. But it's typical of recent elections.
The parties have touched briefly on defence and security in their platforms.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has noted he would improve relations with the U.S. and join the U.S. missile defence program. His government would buy new submarines and improve Arctic sovereignty. The Conservatives haven't discussed what it would cost to join the American missile defence system and there is no price tag for new submarines designed to operate in the Arctic. The subs, in particular, could be costly. In 2016 Australia announced its program to acquire 12 new subs with a price tag of $50 billion.
Earlier this year Scheer vowed that a Conservative government would take the politics out of defence procurement, equipping the Canadian Forces with only what it needs. But even as he re-emphasized that point on the campaign trail, Scheer promised to order a second naval supply ship to be built at Davie shipyards in Quebec. While that would create jobs in the province and potentially generate support for the Conservatives, the leadership of the Royal Canadian Navy is adamant the second vessel is not needed.
Liberal party defence promises have fewer details. Once again the Liberals have promised to increase support for the United Nations. But that's a repeat from the 2015 election campaign and many defence analysts point out that the Liberals didn't really deliver on that in their first mandate. There was the Canadian Forces mission to Mali, finished after only a year, and the assignment of a transport aircraft for UN use. But little else.
The Liberals have a new promise to use the Canadian military's expertise for climate-related disasters, but again there are few details.
They've also resurrected another of their 2015 election promises, which was to reform the defence procurement system. Little was done over the past several years to improve the system to purchase billions of dollars of military equipment. This time around the Liberals are promising to create a Defence Procurement Agency but it is unclear how that would be set up.
The Green party has promised stable funding for military equipment and training, deployment of military personnel to deal with climate change disasters and pollution in the Arctic, to sign a treaty to abolish nuclear weapons and to cancel a deal with Saudi Arabia for light armoured vehicles.
The NDP stated they would hold a fair competition for new fighter jets, keep shipbuilding procurement on time, stop the privatization of services at military bases and put more focus on peacekeeping.
While defence and security issues are important, and can be costly to taxpayers, they don't seem to appear at the forefront of voter concerns. Most of the time they don't even register. Despite the thousands of words written and spoken by politicians and defence analysts about aging fighter jets, Canadians aren't marching in the streets to demand replacements for the RCAF's CF-18s.
Scheer's promise to spend $1.5 billion to buy new medical imaging equipment for hospitals across Canada is more directly relevant to the average Canadian – who likely knows someone who has had to wait months for a MRI – than his promise to have Canada join the U.S. missile defence shield.
The lack of interest by Canadians on defence matters has not been lost on politicians in power, particularly when they need to cut spending. By realizing that defence issues concerned only a small portion of the electorate, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper – who counted himself as a politician firmly behind the Canadian Forces – was able to chop the military's budget.
At the heart of that issue is the lack of connection to and knowledge of the Canadian military by most Canadians. That was illustrated by a July 2018 report commissioned by the Department of National Defence which concluded that, “Awareness of and familiarity with the [Canadian Forces] was generally very low; virtually non-existent among those in the younger age group.”
Only 26 per cent of those surveyed had some awareness of what the Canadian Forces had been doing over a year-and-a-half period. They couldn't even name what types of missions the military did at home, despite the high profile responses by the Canadian Forces to natural disasters such as floods and forest fires.
Participants in the study were even surprised the learn the Canadian Forces operated in the Arctic.
It's a situation that doesn't bode well for the future of the Canadian military.
February 4, 2024 | Local, Naval
Air force technicians are being forced to perform more frequent inspections of Canada's trouble-prone CH-148 Cyclone helicopters after the U.S. manufacturer found a defect related to the main rotor blades, says an internal report.
September 30, 2019 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land
By Paul Lungen, Staff Reporter Col. Amos Nachmani has been in Canada for a couple of years now and, along with his family, he's embraced the cold. It's not something he's used to, coming as he does from warm weather Israel. Winter snow and skiing are something they've learned to enjoy, so while they're here, they'll take full advantage of it. As Israel's defence attaché in Ottawa, his sojourn in Canada is slated to last three years. But it's a busy three years, during which he represents the Israeli military and serves as a liaison to the Canadian Armed Forces. It turns out that there is a great deal of co-operation between the two militaries – everything from the exchange of ideas, to trade in hardware. Nachmani, a former tank combatant, infantry battalion officer and intelligence officer, is one of only 22 international military attachés stationed in Canada. The Canadian Armed Forces liaises with other militaries from around the world, but most of them are based in Washington, D.C. Yet ever since then-prime minister Stephen Harper and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a greater level of military co-operation in 2011, Israel has stationed a military attaché to Canada. At the same time, Canada has its own attaché in Tel Aviv. Military co-operation between the two countries has continued under both Conservative and Liberal governments. “Our relationship is robust and totally agnostic to the notion of who is in power,” Nachmani said. Nachmani said he engages “regularly with the different services in the Canadian Armed Forces, to understand your capabilities, your needs, your plans, in order to see where we can help each other out.” During his time in Canada, he has been invited to military briefings, witnessed exercises and visited bases. In 2017, Nachmani joined former Canadian chief of the defence staff, Gen. Thomas J. Lawson, to discuss “The Future of the Israel-NATO Strategic Partnership.” On Nov. 11 for the past two years, Nachmani laid a wreath during the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. He's discussed with his Canadian colleagues “force buildup,” in which they share tactical methodologies, best practices and partake in military diplomacy. The idea, he said, is to find areas of common interest, “bridge gaps and find common solutions,” and make sure his Canadian counterparts understand “our side of the picture.” How does that translate in a practical sense? Nachmani points to Canadian involvement in Afghanistan, where our military was part of an international effort to fight al-Qaida. Canadian forces had unfortunate experiences with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which caused casualties. “This is a serious problem. We also encountered this in the past in southern Lebanon and Gaza,” Nachmani said. The two militaries addressed the problem jointly by engaging in research and development of a system that would warn of concealed IEDs. “That brought a good, robust solution and both militaries have implemented it,” Nachmani said. Trade is also part of the military relationship between the two countries. Altogether, Israel defence industries sell to Canada an annual average of a little under US$100 million ($133 million) in military hardware, mostly radar and electronic warfare equipment, he said. Prior to moving to Ottawa, Nachmani commanded the IDF's International Cooperation Unit, where he met Canadian officers. For other militaries, the IDF “is a very valuable partner and ally for a country like Canada, due to our deep understanding of the situation in the Middle East, our intelligence capabilities and assessment, and our operational experience,” he said. Canada has sent troops to Afghanistan, on peacekeeping missions and to Iraq to fight ISIS. Canada turns to Israel, and others, for added value in learning ways to understand the Middle East, he said. From his experience interacting with Canadian soldiers, Nachmani believes the IDF and the Canadian Forces share many values: “These are two Western allies that value the Western way of living, liberal values, law-abiding militaries and countries.” Both have a respect for human life and always try to minimize collateral damage in their operations, he added. While Canada is much larger in size than Israel, its Armed Forces are much smaller. They include only 65,000 career soldiers and another 35,000 reservists. Israel has about 40,000 career soldiers, along with 100,000 conscripts serving at any one time. In times of emergency, it can call up as many as 650,000 soldiers, he said. As for the differences between Israeli and Canadian soldiers, Nachmani pointed out that when Canadians are deployed, they're often sent to the other side of the world. “They don't think how this will affect the people at home,” he said, whereas the average Israeli soldier is usually deployed an hour drive from home, so the attacks on Israel feel personal. https://www.cjnews.com/news/canada/israeli-defence-attache-cultivates-ties-with-canadian-military
November 16, 2017 | Local, Aerospace
From the Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force's Joint Unmanned Surveillance and Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS) project was established to procure an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The project is currently in the options analysis phase. This fall, the project's name was changed to Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) project. This change is consistent with recent changes in the lexicon and classification systems of our allies, and is a more accurate reflection of how the systems are operated. As outlined in Strong, Secure, Engaged, released in June 2017, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) have become integral to modern military operations. Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) such as the RCAF's CU-170 Heron and other unmanned aircraft have been deployed on Canadian military operations in the past and offer several advantages including the ability to remain airborne significantly longer than current strategic surveillance platforms. The use of remotely piloted aircraft also reduces the risk to CAF personnel operating the aircraft from a distance and within a lower threat environment, and will also aid in identifying potential threats to CAF personnel in area of operations. Remotely piloted aircraft will be equipped with a variety of payloads and sensors to detect items of interest in all-weather operations including into Canada's Arctic, and will be able to assist in a range of missions from persistent surveillance to supporting search and rescue, to combat operations. The RPAS project anticipates that remotely piloted aircraft can in fact be employed in all eight core missions outlined in Strong, Secure, Engaged, both domestically and overseas. Directly, the RPAS project supports initiatives 91 and 92, which state the government will also “invest in a range of remotely piloted systems” and “conduct research and development of remotely piloted land, sea and aerial capabilities.” The RPAS project Although the name has changed, the RPAS project's aim remains to provide an integrated persistent long-range, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capability. The project will operate as part of a system-of-systems network and will be capable of providing near-real time information to tactical, operational and strategic commanders to support both domestic and deployed operations, and when required, provide a precision strike capability to support operations. The project will complement existing capabilities within the CAF, such as the CP-140 Aurora long range patrol aircraft. The RPAS project is not a platform replacement. Project phases The RPAS project is currently in the options analysis phase: Options analysis allows departmental senior management to make informed decision on the best way to implement a project, attempting to achieve the capability identified in a manner that is acceptable to the Government. During this phase, options are formulated, cost and benefits assessed, and a business case for the options developed. The definition phase of a project marks the transition from determining what should be done to deal with a lack of a capability, to determining how the preferred option will be implemented. A project is planned during this phase. Activities include carrying out a detailed review of the project requirements and risk assessment as well as costing and planning for the implementation phase and a preferred procurement strategy selected. Projects in the implementation phase have received the approvals required to enter into contracts and commit to the expending funds and resources for the project to proceed to completion. Initial operational capability, when the ability to employ the capability is first attained, is planned for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, based on direction contained in Strong, Secure, Engaged. Project costs Costs are being evaluated as part of the options analysis phase and will be further refined during the definition phase. The estimated cost will depend on the approved procurement strategy, infrastructure and the type of platform(s) chosen. Costs will include associated sensors, ground elements and infrastructure. Number of aircraft No decision has been made concerning the number of aircraft. The number of RPASs will be sufficient to meet three simultaneous lines of tasking and may be affected by the procurement strategy, infrastructure, and specific platform(s) chosen. Economic benefits The Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, including the Value Proposition will apply to this procurement, requiring that the prime contractor on this project invest 100 percent of the contract value back into Canada's economy. The Value Proposition is the economic commitment that bidders make to Canada up front at bid time, which is a scored and weighted factor in winner selection. This becomes a contractual commitment for the winning bidder. Value Proposition requirements are tailored to each procurement to allow the government to steer investments and take advantage of the unique economic opportunities offered by each project. RPAS uses Domestically, the RPAS will provide a strengthened ability for surveillance of the maritime and northern approaches to Canada and support to search and rescue operations. The RPAS will allow the CAF to assist other government departments in support of special security events, such as international summits, aid to the civil authorities – such as response to forest fires or floods – and Assistance to Law Enforcement Agencies operations. Overseas, the RPAS will be capable of detecting, recognizing, identifying, and tracking targets of interest in complex environments and integrate with the systems required to process and fuse the collected information into actionable intelligence. RPAS precision strike capability Strong, Secure, Engaged indicates that the RPAS will have a precision strike capability – it will be capable of being armed. The ability to target and execute precision strikes ensures that if a threat is detected that it can also be addressed at that time. As with any use of weapons systems, the CAF will operate in accordance with domestic and international laws. Operations will be conducted in strict accordance with all the controls, procedures, and rules of engagement that govern the use of force or any other weapon. All of these systems would be remotely piloted by CAF personnel who would be directly involved in the decision making process to execute a strike. However, the RPA(s) will be armed only if necessary for the assigned task(s). Operating environments The RPAS will be able to operate worldwide, in all weather conditions, at any time of day with the range and endurance to cover all of Canada's airspace from any suitable operating location. The system will also need to be able to operate in low-to-medium threat environments, within joint environments with other government departments, and as part of a coalition with our allies. The Royal Canadian Air Force ensures the sovereignty of Canada through its ability to respond rapidly to any threat. The investment in the RPAS project, as outlined in Strong, Secure, Engaged, enhances the RCAF's capability to continue to provide agile, integrated air power with the necessary reach to fulfill any requirement asked by the Government of Canada. Interested suppliers should direct question related to this project to the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) contracting authority. Article: http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/news-template-standard.page?doc=update-and-new-name-for-the-joint-unmanned-surveillance-target-acquisition-system-justas-project/j9u7rzyf