Canada Announces Second Peacekeeping Smart Pledge - Will send Aviation Task Force to UN Mission in Mali

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  April 22, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

  COVID-19 latest hurdle in Canada's long road to buying new fighter jets

  OTTAWA — COVID-19 is presenting another challenge to Canada's long-running and tumultuous effort to buy new fighter jets. The federal government last summer launched a long-awaited competition to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's aging CF-18s with 88 new fighter jets at an estimated cost of $19 billion. The move followed a decade of controversy and mismanagement by various governments. The three companies still in the running are supposed to submit their bids at the end of June and, despite the pandemic, the federal procurement department insisted in an email to The Canadian Press that it still expects them to meet that deadline. The three companies vying for the lucrative contract are Lockheed Martin and Boeing from the U.S. and Sweden's Saab. Lockheed Martin builds the F-35 while Boeing is pitching its Super Hornet and Saab is offering its Gripen jet. Yet while representatives for the three companies say they are likewise plugging away at their respective proposals, a senior Boeing executive left the door open to asking the government for an extension as COVID-19 forces the company to adjust how it does business. "It's challenging, there's no question about it," Jim Barnes, the Boeing executive responsible for trying to sell the company's Super Hornet jet to Canada, said in an interview on Tuesday. "We want to make sure we put the most competitive offer on the table for the government of Canada to evaluate and we feel like we can put a very compelling offer. If we feel like we don't have time to finalize that competitive offer ... we would certainly ask for an extension." The government has already approved one extension to the competition since it was launched last July. Companies were supposed to submit their final bids at the end of March, but were given three more months after Saab asked for more time. Boeing continues to work closely with the U.S. government and navy on its bid and hopes to meet the current deadline, but Barnes said the pandemic has slowed things down as many staff work from home on a complex project with significant security considerations. "Then you have to take into consideration the health of your subject-matter experts in those areas where there are just a few people that can really work up those responses," he said. "Those kinds of things we're dealing with. I'm not sure if the other teams are dealing with that, but we are monitoring that and if we feel like we can't meet the deadline, we'll certainly consider an extension request as an option." Representatives for Lockheed Martin and Saab were more confident in being able to meet the current deadline. "Lockheed Martin remains prepared to provide a comprehensive proposal for Canada's future fighter capability project competition," Lockheed Martin Canada chief executive Lorraine Ben said in a statement. "We have not requested an extension of delivery for the FFCP preliminary proposal and we are excited to share more about the F-35's ability to strengthen and modernize defence, enhance ally partnerships and contribute to economic growth in Canada." Saab Canada president Simon Carroll expressed similar sentiments, saying in an interview that while there some challenges in preparing a bid during a pandemic, "we're certainly working towards that and are planning at this point in time to submit in accordance with that deadline." Yet there are also questions about the government's ability to move ahead on the project even if the companies do get their bids in on time, given the majority of federal employees are working at home. "Those submissions are going to have a combination of sensitive and classified information, and handling all that with a workforce, the majority of which is working from home, is going to be more difficult," said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "I think as a basic bottom line, it is completely illogical to think that the impacts of COVID-19 won't be running through the entire suite of defence procurements because you can't work as efficiently with a huge chunk of your workforce at home." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2020. https://www.richmond-news.com/covid-19-latest-hurdle-in-canada-s-long-road-to-buying-new-fighter-jets-1.24121637

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  November 4, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  A Second Wind for the Quebec and Canadian Economy

  AAA CANADA WILL PRESERVE MORE THAN 250 TEMPORARY JOBS IN QUEBEC THANKS TO THE SUB-ASSEMBLY OF CAE AIR1 MECHANICAL VENTILATORS MONTREAL, Nov. 3, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - A few months ago, the Canadian government awarded CAE, a world leader in civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare training, an order for 10,000 units of CAE Air1, its new model of mechanical ventilator designed to save lives in hospitals across the country. AAA Canada, a leading manufacturer in industrialization and production, has been mandated by CAE to carry out certain sub-assemblies of this very important device. During these difficult times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this partnership is indeed, very promising. To ensure the fulfillment of this major mandate, AAA Canada has invested more than $450,000 in infrastructure required for the development of sub-assembly lines at affiliate company sites located respectively in Laval and Mirabel. The contract, won by AAA Canada, allows it not only to recall a large number of its workers whom were temporarily laid off following the crisis that affected the aerospace industry as a whole, but also to proceed with the creation of several temporary positions. An invaluable mandate at a time when the economy is faltering, and businesses are running out of steam. "The health crisis has stifled the Quebec and Canadian economy. The production of the CAE Air1 gave it an unexpected second wind. Thanks to the government's unwavering support, CAE's ingenuity and the great responsiveness and flexibility of our workers, we will be able to maintain and create nearly 250 temporary jobs, while helping to save lives. We are very grateful to CAE for this wonderful opportunity and I am extremely proud to witness, once again, AAA Canada's great determination to dare and innovate," said Avit Lévesque, General Manager of AAA Canada. "This is a substantial subsidy as it is equal to the threat this second wave presents to the public health and to the overcrowding of hospitals nationwide. We are proud to have AAA Canada among the Canadian suppliers involved in this collective effort to fight COVID-19. We thank them for their excellent support, expertise and agility," added Stéphane Roche, Vice President Global Procurement Sourcing and Real Estate at CAE. About AAA Canada (www.aaa-canada.ca/home) AAA Canada, an affiliate of DRAKKAR Aerospace & Ground Transportation, is a specialized subcontracting and technical assistance services company related to industrialization and production processes, operating in the aerospace, ground transportation, energy and now health sectors. AAA Canada has a team of passionate workers and draws its strength from the AAA European Group located in the 4 corners of the globe. Supported by AAA Group's international expertise, we provide a proven intervention method to deliver a high-quality finished product to our customers. Our approach to productivity, timeliness, quality and efficiency gives us a place of choice within our clients' facilities and operations. About CAE (www.cae.com) CAE is a high technology company, at the leading edge of digital immersion, providing solutions to make the world a safer place. Backed by a record of more than 70 years of industry firsts, we continue to reimagine the customer experience and revolutionize training and operational support solutions in civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare. We are the partner of choice to customers worldwide who operate in complex, high-stakes and largely regulated environments, where successful outcomes are critical. Testament to our customers' ongoing needs for our solutions, over 60 percent of CAE's revenue is recurring in nature. We have the broadest global presence in our industry, with approximately 10,000 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. www.cae.com SOURCE AAA Canada For further information: Contact Person: AAA Canada, Rosalie Côté, Senior Director - Communication & Marketing, rosalie.cote@drakkar.com, 514-806-0798 https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/a-second-wind-for-the-quebec-and-canadian-economy-885079492.html

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  December 10, 2018 | Local, Land

  Canada's WWII-era pistols dangerously unreliable — but the quest to find a replacement drags on

  Tristin Hopper The Canadian Army brought 20 pistols to an Arkansas shooting competition. Before events had even officially kicked off, 15 of those pistols had jammed so badly during the warmup they couldn't be used. “It was so bad, the guys coming off (the range) were handing over their (remaining five) pistols to the next team because they couldn't trust the others,” said Ken Pole, who wrote about the incident for a feature in Canadian Army Today. On average, Pole found that the Canadians' handguns has jammed once every 62 shots. Their British competitors, by contrast, squeezed off 5,620 rounds without a hitch. This is all pretty standard for the Browning Hi-Power, the 74-year-old pistol still carried as the primary sidearm of the Canadian Armed Forces. Unlike most pistols carried by G7 militaries, Brownings have a tendency to rattle and soldiers have been advised not to fully load the pistol because it will wear out the springs. When a Canadian soldier is deployed to a war zone such as Afghanistan or Mali, they're issued with whatever Browning Hi-Power is deemed to be least likely to give out. That's why some have joked that if they're ever forced to use their sidearm in combat, they'd be better off throwing it than shooting it. “If you give me a choice of a sharp stick or a Browning, I'll ... sadly take the Browning but will look fondly at the stick,” Bob Kinch, a former competitive marksman with the Canadian Armed Forces, wrote in a September Quora post. Like many times when the Canadian military tries to buy something, however, the quest to replace the Browning is now held up in a years-long procurement limbo. A 2016 statement by the Department of National Defence estimated that soldiers wouldn't be able to get their hands on new pistols until at least 2026. Canada's Hi-Powers are so desperately obsolete, however, that the army has been forced to greenlight a stopgap program to buy up some working pistols in the meantime. Known as the “Army Interim Pistol Program,” it will buy about 7,000 sidearms to immediate plug what the army is calling its “current pistol capability gaps.” Full article: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadas-wwii-era-pistols-dangerously-unreliable-but-the-quest-to-find-a-replacement-drags-on