Back to news

June 15, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Auditors target Defence Department for poor oversight of military-spending plan

Saskatoon / 650 CKOM

The Canadian Press

June 14, 2020 10:28 am

OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence has been called out for assigning less than three people to monitor the rollout of the Liberal government's plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in new military equipment, troops and training.

The criticism is contained in an internal Defence Department audit and follows previous concerns that delays and other problems are slowing implementation of the plan, which was unveiled in 2017 and promised to spend $553 billion in the military over 20 years.

The plan known as Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE) is seen as critical for replacing much of the military's aging equipment and adding new capabilities such as armed drones and defences in cyber and space that are needed for 21st-century warfare.

Yet the Defence Department earlier this year revealed that more than 100 of the roughly 300 capital projects associated with the plan were facing delays, with the delivery dates for some urgently needed equipment pushed several years into the future.

The audit report dated last November but only recently published online underscores the importance of monitoring and oversight to ensure the plan is properly implemented over the next two decades.

Auditors instead found "limited dedicated resources to co-ordinate and monitor implementation" of the plan, according to the report, with fewer than three full-time staff members specifically tasked with the job.

By comparison, there were 32 staff members assigned to oversee a cost-cutting exercise launched by the previous Conservative government in 2013 that aimed to eliminate $1.2 billion in annual waste within the department. That effort met with limited success.

"The capacity of the SSE implementation team is limited and as such, certain monitoring functions and independent validation of information are not being performed," according to the audit report.

The auditors also flagged concerns that the lack of monitoring meant senior defence officials were not receiving clear and accurate information about the state of the plan, raising fears about bad decisions being made.

Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande said some of the issues identified by the auditors have been addressed while work on others is underway, though she did not say how many staff are now responsible for monitoring the plan.

"We welcome reviews of this nature, which help us find where adjustments and improvements can be made to ensure the continued efficient progress and oversight of the policy," Lamirande said in an email.

"All of these audit recommendations are being addressed, with several already completed and the others well underway. In fact, some recommendations validated work that was already in progress."

Defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute expressed surprise at the auditors' findings given senior officials had emphasized the importance of properly implementing the plan when it was released three years ago.

That emphasis included monitoring progress, which Perry described as fundamental for identifying problems and areas that need attention — such as delayed procurement projects — to ensure the military gets what it has been promised and needs.

The need to properly implement the plan and eliminate delays is even more important now, he added, given fears the federal government could start cutting defence spending as it seeks to find ways to pay for its COVID-19 emergency programs.

"You've got a government whose wholesale attention is focused on the response to COVID," Perry said.

"Any kind of delay in a program and the department basically not seizing the moment that it's got opens up potential vulnerability given the huge degree of economic and fiscal uncertainty that the department and government are facing right now."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2020.

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

https://www.ckom.com/2020/06/14/auditors-target-defence-department-for-poor-oversight-of-military-spending-plan/

On the same subject

  • Canadian air force short 275 pilots as attrition outpaces recruitment, training

    September 19, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

    Canadian air force short 275 pilots as attrition outpaces recruitment, training

    By Canadian Press OTTAWA — The Royal Canadian Air Force is contending with a shortage of around 275 pilots and needs more mechanics, sensor operators and other trained personnel in the face of increasing demands at home and abroad. The Air Force says it is working to address the deficiencies and that they have not negatively impacted operations, but officials acknowledge the situation has added pressure on Canada's flying corps and represents a challenge for the foreseeable future. “Right now we're doing everything we can to make sure we recruit, train and retain enough personnel to do our current mission,” said Brig.-Gen. Eric Kenny, director general of air readiness. “In the next 20 years, it's going to be a challenge to grow the force at the rate that we would like.” The shortfall in pilots and mechanics was referenced in an internal report recently published by the Department of National Defence, which also flagged underspending on maintenance for bases and other infrastructure, as well as reductions in annual flying times thanks to Conservative-era budget cuts. Some of those issues have since started to be addressed by the Liberals through their new defence policy, but the personnel shortage remains an area of critical concern given the need for pilots and others to fly and maintain the military's various aircraft fleets at home and abroad. Those include the planes and helicopters involved in Canada's military missions in Iraq, Latvia, Mali, and Ukraine; domestic search-and-rescue aircraft; and the CF-18 fighter jets deployed in Romania and guarding against a foreign attack on North America. The Air Force is authorized to have 1,580 pilots, but Kenny said in an interview the Air Force is short by around 17 per cent — or about 275 pilots — along with similar shortfalls for navigators and sensor operators, who work onboard different types of aircraft, as well as mechanics. Kenny also acknowledged the threat of burnout as service members are forced to pick up the slack left by unfilled positions, and the added burden of promised new drones, fighter jets and other aircraft arriving in the coming years, which will require even more people to fly and maintain. Efforts to address the shortfalls have looked at retaining service members with tax breaks, additional support and services for family members to ease military life, and plans to free up experienced personnel by assigning administrative staff to do day-to-day tasks. Several initiatives have also been introduced to speed up recruitment and training, and attract older pilots back into the Forces, which has borne some fruit and aimed at buying time for officials to decide whether to change the length of time pilots and others are required to serve before they can leave. “This is beyond just looking at benefits,” Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Tuesday. “We're looking at a much more holistic approach in how we look after them.” But the current training system means the Air Force can only produce 115 new pilots each year, which commanders have said is insufficient to meet needs given the rate at which military pilots have moved on to commercial opportunities in recent years. Conservative defence critic James Bezan suggested one reason the military is losing pilots is because they are being asked to fly older planes, including CF-18 fighter jets that are close to 40 years old. “If pilots aren't getting new aircraft, why are they sticking around?” Bezan said. “And so, the idea of bringing in used fighter jets from Australia that are even in worse shape than the current CF-18s that we fly today, why would they stick around?” The Department of National Defence is drawing up plans for a new system that officials hope will be in place by 2021 and include the ability to expand or shrink the number of trainees in any year given the Air Force's needs. Kenny said the shortfalls will remain a challenge since the current system will remain in place for several more years — and because it takes four and eight years to train a pilot from scratch. “We know what capabilities we're receiving and now we can start working to make sure that we have personnel that are trained to be able to meet those requirements,” he said. “But I'm not going to lie: It's definitely a challenge.” https://ipolitics.ca/2018/09/18/canadian-air-force-short-275-pilots-as-attrition-outpaces-recruitment-training-2/

  • Royal Canadian Navy to start process of replacing aging submarine fleet - National | Globalnews.ca

    July 15, 2021 | Local, Naval

    Royal Canadian Navy to start process of replacing aging submarine fleet - National | Globalnews.ca

    A dedicated team is being created to start the process, which is sure to be the beginning of a controversial debate around the need for the vessels in the Canadian Navy.

  • Top Aces secures approval for F-16 adversary air fleet

    December 4, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

    Top Aces secures approval for F-16 adversary air fleet

    Posted on December 4, 2020 by Chris Thatcher Top Aces has received approval to acquire and import up to 29 F-16 aircraft from an undisclosed country, the company confirmed Thursday. The Dorval, Que.-based air combat training firm said in a statement that the Block 10 aircraft would be upgraded with its open architecture mission system and offered as a platform to support United States Department of Defense training beginning in 2021. While Top Aces would not yet confirm the country of origin, Israeli media on Dec. 2 claimed the seller is the Israeli Defense Ministry. According to CTech, the F-16s are 1980s-era aircraft that were retired as of 2016, and the Defense Ministry's export agency is overseeing the deal. The company has been pursuing a fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16s for some time, to meet the training requirements of preparing next-generation pilots flying the F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor. Top Aces confirmed in an interview in November 2019 that it was seeking to acquire 12 Block 15 A/B models from an undisclosed allied country. “The F-16 really is our growth platform for the future, especially for advanced adversary training,” said Paul Bouchard, president and chief executive officer. “It is the most prolific adversary aircraft in the Western world. It is the adversary aircraft of choice just because of its performance characteristics. It is a fourth-generation aircraft, so from an aircraft architecture standpoint, it can be equipped and configured in so many different ways. . . . And it is also scalable given there were more than 4,000 F-16s built. It is still a production aircraft. It has a lot of existing support in terms of sustainment.” If the deal with Israel is confirmed, the F-16 jets would be added to Top Aces' current fleets of Dornier Alpha Jets and Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, and initially based at the F-16 Center of Excellence near the company's U.S. headquarters in Mesa, Ariz. In October 2019, the company received an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract that will allow it to compete with Air USA, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company, Blue Air Training, Coastal Defense, Draken International, and Tactical Air Support for adversary air services at 12 U.S. Air Force bases. Under the US$6.4 billion Combat Air Force Contracted Air Support (CAF CAS) contract, the Air Force can solicit individual tenders from those seven companies for advanced adversary air (ADAIR) capabilities as required, at 12 USAF bases. The contract runs until October 2024 and is estimated to involve between 40,000 to 50,000 flying hours. “As a named winner in the [CAF CAS] contract, Top Aces is uniquely positioned to offer the F-16 as the most capable and flexible ADAIR platform supporting the U.S. Department of Defense,” a spokesperson said on Thursday. Top Aces has been a pioneer in contracted aggressor or “red” air training for militaries, simulating hostile threats for fighter pilots, naval crews, and land forces for the Canadian Armed Forces since the mid-2000s. In October 2017, the company won a competition to retain the Canadian Contracted Airborne Training Services (CATS) program under a 10-year deal worth about US$480 million, which includes options to extend the service to 2031 and the value to as much as US$1.4 billion. The Canadian program is delivered with the Alpha Jet and Bombardier Learjet 35A aircraft, but Top Aces has proposed adding the F-16 when the Royal Canadian Air Force acquires its next-generation fighter. The high standards of the CATS program have opened the doors to international opportunities. The USAF contract would not have been possible without the “industry-leading” certification and airworthiness standards demanded by the RCAF and Transport Canada, Bouchard acknowledged in 2019. Top Aces secured a similar training support contract with the German Armed Forces in 2014 and, more recently, a two-year trial with the Australian Defence Force. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/top-aces-f16-adversary-air-fleet

All news