Extension October 03 | Business opportunity with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems inc.

On the same subject

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  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.

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  September 14, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Next defence chief will signal Liberals' priorities for the military

  Lee Berthiaume/ The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Time is running out for the federal Liberal government to name a new commander of the Canadian Armed Forces before it faces a confidence vote, with some observers worrying a delay could leave the military in limbo in the event of an election. Yet exactly who will be selected to succeed Gen. Jonathan Vance as chief of the defence staff remains a mystery because while there may be one seemingly obvious choice, there are others who might suit the Liberals better. "There's a generalized understanding that any of the individuals who have made it to three stars have demonstrated a pretty strong portfolio in terms of competencies and strengths," said Canadian Forces College professor Alan Okros. "It then becomes an issue about where does the priority fall?" The Liberal government has quietly indicated it wants to announce the new chief of defence staff before the speech from the throne on Sept. 23. Sources at the Department of National Defence, who are not authorized to discuss the search publicly, said interviews were conducted this past week Retired lieutenant-general Guy Thibault, who previously served as vice-chief of the defence staff, is one of those hoping for an announcement before a possible election. "You just don't want to have a chief in waiting with a chief caretaker in place," said Thibault, who now heads the Conference of Defence Associations Institute. The seemingly obvious choice is Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau. The former Ottawa police officer who re-enrolled in the Forces after 9/11 spent years in the field before becoming commander of Canada's special forces in 2014, at a time when the elite soldiers were in Iraq and elsewhere. Rouleau has since been burnishing his credentials in Ottawa, first as commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, which oversees all domestic and foreign operations, before recently taking over as Vance's second-in-command. "I think Mike is really the full-meal deal of all the current three-stars," said Thibault, echoing an assessment shared by many defence insiders and observers. Rouleau's appointment would signal a continuation of the current path set by Vance's five-year tenure — the longest in modern Canadian history — and enshrined in the Liberals' defence policy. That policy — known as Strong, Secure, Engaged — released in 2017 promised massive billions of dollars in investments over the next 20 years for more troops, new equipment such as warships and jets, and new capabilities in cyber and space. A similar signal would be sent if the Liberal government tapped Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger, Canadian Army commander Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre or Royal Canadian Navy commander Vice-Admiral Art McDonald. They, along with Lt.-Gen. Christopher Coates, who recently moved into Rouleau's old job as head of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, would bring their own skills and styles, but they are also viewed as largely similar in terms of continuity. Some worry the economic damage caused by COVID-19 has made the defence policy unaffordable and that the government might bring out the axe. "If the government writ large turns its mind to budget cutting and deficit reduction, then National Defence is very, very unlikely to survive that for a number of different reasons," said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "The biggest one is just the straight arithmetic of it being the largest share of federal budget share." Vice-Admiral Darren Hawco was one of the key architects of the defence policy, with insiders speaking in glowing terms of the way the former frigate commander managed the backroom battles that led to its development. That included managing the priorities of the Air Force, Army and Navy against a set pot of money — an experience that would be especially important if the government wanted to start cutting. Many have wondered whether the Liberals will appoint a woman to become Canada's top military officer for the first time. Such a move would fit with the Liberals' progressive, feminist credentials and signal the government wants to see more action on addressing cultural issues such as racism as well as sexual misconduct and hate in the ranks. "There is still this huge frustration in the Prime Minister's Office (about) the military in not making progress on the sexual harassment side, and particularly the harassment, discrimination and hateful conduct stuff," said Okros. "It then becomes that issue of who is the right person to do that, and at one level, symbolic decisions may be of importance." That is where the first two female lieutenant-generals in Canada's history — Christine Whitecross and Francis Allen — come up. Whitecross in particular has been seen as a potential contender for the chief of the defence staff position for years, and the fact she spearheaded the military's fight against sexual misconduct in the early going could be a feather in her cap. Yet neither Whitecross nor Allen have much experience in the field and Perry said having a chief of the defence staff who didn't command a warship, fly an aircraft or lead soldiers in the field would be almost as groundbreaking as appointing a woman. "That would certainly be almost as notable for an organization that has a lot of cultural orientation around the operational end of things and putting people with those types of backgrounds into the top job," Perry said. Whichever way the government goes, says Thibault, "all of the three-stars currently in the mix wouldn't be where they are if they didn't have very significant experience and credibility and knowledge and skills and the right leadership qualities. "So you can take good confidence that they're all bona fide Canadian Forces leaders. And whoever is picked, I think we would recognize at the very beginning that they will all bring something unique and relevant to the position as chief of defence staff." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2020. https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/news/next-defence-chief-will-signal-liberals-priorities-for-the-military-1.24202293

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  April 25, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Lack of expert procurement staff could hinder Canadian Forces drone purchase

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Department of National Defence has updated details about its key ongoing defence procurements. I have written an article on that update which can be viewed at the National Post website: https://nationalpost.com/news/government-expects-to-award-contract-for-new-fighter-jet-fleet-in-2022-but-admits-it-could-face-delays The article notes the DND warning about issues that could affect the proposed purchase of a fleet of uninhabited aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones. The DND update warned that there might not be enough procurement staff with the required expertise to move that program forward on schedule. The department hopes to deal with the problem by hiring contractors. A draft invitation to qualify for that project was released April 5 and a contact is expected to be awarded in 2022, the update pointed out. The lack of staff has been an ongoing issue for the UAV program but in other ways. In May 2010 I reported The Canadian Force's plan to buy pilotless aircraft to conduct surveillance off the country's coasts, in the Arctic and on overseas missions had fallen behind schedule because the military doesn't have enough people to fly the drones. While the UAVs don't carry pilots, they still require an operator on the ground to fly the craft. Staff are also needed to maintain the equipment and to prepare them for flight. But at the time the air force was having difficulty finding enough people for a new unit that would be needed to operate the UAVs. Then called the Joint UAV Surveillance and Target Acquisition System or JUSTAS, there had been a number of plans for the acquisition. One of the earlier ones involved a request for proposals from industry to be issued by the end of 2009 and a contract signed in 2010. The first of the UAVs would have arrived by February 2012. That obviously didn't happen. A reworked plan called for the delivery of the UAVs in 2014, with full operating capability in 2017. That didn't happen. The project is now named, RPAS, for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System. The latest plan calls for a contract to be awarded in 2022-2023 with full capability – an armed drone fleet – in place by 2029-2030. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/lack-of-expert-procurement-staff-could-hinder-canadian-forces-drone-purchase