July 13, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
Made-in-Canada advocates rally against Ottawa’s Boeing P-8 preference
The premiers of Canada's two largest provinces have called for an open competition that would allow local vendors, namely Bombardier, to bid.
November 11, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
Boeing confirms it is taking part in Canada’s future fighter jet competition
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
Boeing officials tell Defence Watch that the company will indeed be bidding on Canada's future fighter jet program.
The firm will offer the Super Hornet for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
There had been questions in the defence and aerospace industry about whether Boeing would proceed in the competition as concerns mount the procurement is rigged towards the F-35.
But a Boeing official told Defence Watch on Thursday that the company is “100 per cent in.”
The firm has submitted to the federal government the required information that outlines how it will meet various security requirements so the aircraft can operate within the U.S.-Canadian system.
In July Boeing released a statement that it was still participating in the process but it had yet to make any final decisions on whether to take part in the Canadian competition. “We look forward to continuing to provide comments, reviewing the final RFP, and determining next steps at that time,” Boeing noted at the time.
In late August, 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.
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.
The $19 billion competition has been dogged by allegations it is designed to favour Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter.
This newspaper reported earlier this year that the requirements for the new jets put emphasis on strategic attack and striking at ground targets during foreign missions. That criteria is seen to benefit the F-35. In addition, the federal government changed criteria on how it would assess industrial benefits after the U.S. government threatened to pull the F-35 from the competition.
Saab has also confirmed it is proceeding in the competition, offering Canada its Gripen fighter jet.
Airbus and the UK Defence Ministry noted that its decision to withdraw was the result of a detailed review of Canada's request for proposals which was released to industry on July 23. It pointed to the changes Canada made to the industrial benefits package to appease Lockheed Martin as well as the excessive security costs that U.S.-Canadian security requirements placed on a company based outside North America.
“A detailed review has led the parties to conclude that NORAD security requirements continue to place too significant of a cost on platforms whose manufacture and repair chains sit outside the United States-Canada 2-EYES community,” the statement from Airbus and the UK Defence Ministry noted. “Second, both parties concluded that the significant recent revision of industrial technological benefits obligations does not sufficiently value the binding commitments the Typhoon Canada package was willing to make, and which were one of its major points of focus.”
Bids must be submitted by the spring of 2020.
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June 21, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
Some changes made to Canadian fighter jet requirements as new document sent to companies
DAVID PUGLIESE Procurement Canada has provided aerospace firms a new draft version of the requirements for Canada's next generation fighter jet fleet. Some changes have been made in the draft request for proposals document to deal with concerns raised by the companies, according to federal government sources. The requirements for the new Canadian fighter jet originally put emphasis on strategic attack and striking at ground targets during foreign missions, according to federal government procurement documents obtained by Postmedia. While the Liberal government had been highlighting the need to buy the jets to protect Canadian airspace and meet the country's commitments to the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defence Command, the procurement criteria provided additional weight to those aircraft that can excel at ground attack for overseas operations. That criteria was seen to favour Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jet, say those industry representatives allied with Lockheed's rivals in the upcoming $19 billion competition. The evaluation criteria also had less emphasis on sustainability, another plus for the F-35 which has been dogged with high maintenance bills, they added. The latest version of the requirements now eases back somewhat on the ground attack role and puts a little more emphasis on air-to-air scenarios, say sources. Some changes have also been made to provide for more points to companies who can provide a better deal on sustainment of the aircraft. Another change affects the length of time a firm has to meet its industrial benefits associated with its proposal. That has increased from 20 years to 25 years. Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence's procurement chief, has said he wants the final request for proposals for the fighter jets out to industry by mid-July. At this point four aircraft are to be considered. Those include two U.S.-built aircraft, the F-35, and the Super Hornet, and two European planes, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Gripen. The winning bidder will build 88 jets for Canada. The new aircraft will replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18s. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/some-changes-made-to-canadian-fighter-jet-requirements-as-new-document-sent-to-companies
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September 10, 2023 | Local, Naval, Security
Royal Canadian Navy-led Exercise CUTLASS FURY 2023 Commences
Exercise CUTLASS FURY 2023, which runs between September 10 and 22, began today with a unified sailpast and flypast of participants along the waterfront in Halifax, NS.