ASTERIX COMPLETES ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY TRIALS, ACHIEVES FULL OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY (FOC)

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  December 17, 2021 | Local, Aerospace

  New Call for Countering Unmanned Aerial Systems Coming // Nouvel appel de propositions pour vaincre les systèmes aériens sans pilote à venir bientôt

  New Call for Countering Unmanned Aerial Systems Coming In 2022, IDEaS will again be looking to the skies! After hosting a Sandbox in 2019 on Countering Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS), IDEaS will be inviting innovators to bring their ‘A' game in a new call for applications in the New Year. Come show us how your CUAS prototypes can solve the challenge and be integrated into the broader military command and control system. The original call sought technologies that could detect and/or defeat Micro and Mini Unmanned Aerial Systems, for which we are now seeking improved performance and integration. Visit the 2019 CUAS Results page to learn more on how the event unfolded and what we learned. Stay tuned for the new call to launch in January 2022. Stay tuned for opportunities to join and collaborate in Innovation Networks 5G research clusters! ​In Fall 2021, IDEaS invited Canadian Innovators to submit a Letter of Intent for the development of research clusters (called Micro-nets) under the newest Innovation Networks challenge: Faster, Stronger, More Secure: Advancing 5G capabilities and concepts for Defence and Security. The focus of the Micro-nets will be to conduct research to address DND/CAF needs with applications for:​ Architectures for Defence and Security Operations; Assured Performance and Security; or Applications and Sensors. Eligible Innovators screened in will be invited by the IDEaS Program to submit their Full Proposals over a period of 6 weeks. IDEaS will be posting the list of all screened in applicants in January 2022, including their proposal title, and lead researcher. We encourage organizations to build their network and reach out to be part of these growing micro-nets. Each funded micro-net will be eligible to receive up to $1.5M over 3 years to foster the development of a critical mass of researchers, highly qualified personnel, and expertise within the Canadian innovation community. Please join our mailing list to be the first to hear of this opportunity for collaborate. The IDEaS Team Nouvel appel de propositions pour vaincre les systèmes aériens sans pilote à venir bientôt En 2022, IDEeS regarde à nouveau vers le ciel ! Après avoir réalisé un Environnement protégé en 2019 pour en apprendre sur comment vaincre les systèmes aériens sans pilote (CUAS), IDEeS invitera les innovateurs à apporter leur savoir-faire dans un nouvel appel de propositions pour la nouvelle année. Venez nous montrer comment vos prototypes CUAS peuvent relever le défi et être intégrés dans un système de commandement et de contrôle militaire plus large. L'appel initial recherchait des technologies capables de détecter et/ou de vaincre les systèmes aériens micro et mini sans pilote, pour lesquels nous recherchons maintenant des performances et une intégration améliorées. Consultez la page des résultats CUAS 2019 pour en savoir plus sur le déroulement de l'événement et sur ce que nous avons appris. Ne manquez pas le nouvel appel de propositions qui sera lancé en janvier 2022. Les micro-réseaux 5G de Réseaux d'innovation commencent à prendre forme en janvier À partir de janvier 2022, les candidats retenus au dernier défi des réseaux d'innovation 5G auront la possibilité de commencer à unir leurs forces pour créer leurs micro-réseaux de recherche proposés. Les participants sélectionnés pour la phase de proposition du défi Plus rapide, plus fort, plus sécurisé : avancer les capacités et les concepts 5G pour la défense et la sécurité seront publiés sur le site Web d'IDEeS en janvier. Le titre de la proposition, l'organisation et le chercheur principal seront partagés afin que les candidats puissent commencer le processus de collaboration pour construire leurs micro-réseaux. Chaque micro-réseau financé sera admissible à recevoir jusqu'à 1,5 million de dollars (sur 3 ans) pour favoriser le développement d'une masse critique de chercheurs, de personnel hautement qualifié et d'expertise au sein de la communauté canadienne de l'innovation. Les participants doivent soumettre leurs propositions complètes au programme IDEeS dans les 6 semaines suivant la réception de la notification de la réussite de leur candidature. Inscrivez-vous à notre liste de distribution pour être averti lorsque la liste des participants sera disponible. L'équipe IDEeS

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  July 14, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

  Canada’s Secret Cold War Submarine Drone Is Still Relevant Today

  Extra-large autonomous submarines may revolutionize intelligence gathering and espionage under the sea. One of these ground breaking projects is the U.S. Navy's Boeing Orca extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV). It is much larger than any other underwater drone currently in the water. But there is a historical precursor that, despite its epic Cold War story, is not widely known. And its mission, to lay covert sensor networks in the arctic, may be as relevant today as it was then. During the Cold War, NATO believed that Russian submarines were using the ice cap in the Canadian Arctic as cover to covertly move between the Atlantic and Pacific. So the U.S. and Canada placed a special sonar network there, deep under the ice. Canadian engineers had to build the world's largest autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), Theseus, to lay a cable where ships could not reach. The project started in the 1980s, at a time when Russian submarines were getting much quieter. To listen for them, a joint U.S. and Canadian sonar array was to be placed several hundred miles north of the remote Canadian base at CFS Alert. The array was codenamed Spinnaker, in honor of the bar where scientists made many of the unclassified decisions in the project. This was similar to the now-famous SOSUS (Sound Surveillance System), but used classified technology to match its operational circumstances. In fact it must have been much more advanced than the original SOSUS. Connecting the sonar array to the base would require laying a fiber-optic cable for hundreds of miles under permanent ice cap. The solution was to build the world's largest autonomous underwater vehicle. The uncrewed submarine would swim from an ice hole nearer to the base all the way to the Spinnaker array. As it went the cable would unreel out of the back. Thus ‘Theseus' got its name from the mythical hero of Ancient Greece who trailed thread behind him when he ventured into the labyrinth to fight the Minotaur. When we think of advanced Canadian military projects which were ahead of their time, the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow springs to mind. That delta-winged Mach-2 fighter flew in the 1950s and was cutting edge technology at the time, one of the all-time great aircraft. But it was cancelled abruptly in 1959 before it could enter service. The Theseus AUV is up there with the Avro Arrow, but less well recognized. And unlike the Arrow, it was used operationally, in one of the boldest projects started during the Cold War. The project had many secret aspects. Years later much of what we know about the project comes from Bruce Butler, one of the core team involved. Bulter has written a book, Into the Labyrinth (on Amazon), and recently talked to the Underwater Technology Podcast about the project. Theseus was 35 feet long and about 4 feet across. In AUV terms this is large, even today. In modern naval terminology it would be categorized as a large-displacement uncrewed underwater vehicle (LDUUV). The Spinnaker sonar system was placed on the sea floor right on the edge of the arctic shelf. It was about 84 degrees north, up in the top right-hand corner of Canada, near to Greenland. Such an advanced project took years to realize, so it was not until spring 1996 when Theseus could go to work laying the cable. The whole operation was pushing the boundaries of uncrewed underwater vehicles at the time. Despite some close calls along the way, Theseus was able to navigate to the Spinnaker, letting out the vital thread as it went. Many details of the project and technology involved are still classified. And we may never know whether Spinnaker ever picked up any Russian submarines. By the time it had been laid the Russian Navy was in steep decline following the end of the Cold War. But with a resurgent Russian Navy today, the relevance of systems like Spinnaker may be greater than ever. And one of the roles which large submarine drones like the Orca might do is lay cables on the sea floor, unseen from above. Historical precedents like Theseaus can help us understand the way that these might be employed, and the challenges that they will face. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/07/12/canada-secret-cold-war-drone-submarine-is-still-relevant-today/#121a2da51e96

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  July 23, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Feds officially launch contract to supply 88 new fighter jets

  The 88 jets are to replace the country's aging CF-18s, which have been in service for more than 35 years. After years of stop-and-start work on replacing them, the government launched the current procurement in 2016 and has been working on the details for nearly three years. Public Services and Procurement Canada says Saab, Airbus, Lockheed Martin and Boeing have until this fall to demonstrate that they can meet requirements for security and interoperability with allied countries' forces, and until 2020 to make what the government calls “initial proposals.” In announcing the call, the government points out that the bidders will have to show that they have plans to invest as much in economic benefits for Canada as the eventual contract is worth. A winning bidder is to be chosen in 2022 and the first planes are to arrive in 2025. https://ottawacitizen.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/feds-officially-launch-contract-to-supply-88-new-fighter-jets/wcm/10762f5a-0cdb-4c70-9081-5311b2bf49a7