June 30, 2020 | Local, Naval

Canada awards contract to support Halifax-class ship maintenance

As outlined in Canada's defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, the Government of Canada is committed to equipping the Canadian Armed Forces with modern and capable equipment needed to support its operations. This includes supporting the Royal Canadian Navy's (RCN) fleet of combat vessels to ensure they remain operationally effective and capable until the transition to its future fleet is complete.

Today, the Government of Canada announced the award of an in-service support contract to Fleetway Inc. of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Valued at $72.6 million for the first six years, with options to extend for up to 22 years, this contract will provide a full range of technical data management and systems engineering support services for the RCN's fleet of Halifax-class ships. This contract will secure an expert team to store and manage thousands of critical ship documents, in addition to producing complex designs to support the installation of new equipment on board the ships. Their specialized knowledge and skills will make sure key information is up-to-date to support maintenance teams, and will enable the maintenance of the Halifax-class operational capability in support of CAF missions.

Awarded as part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, this contract will ensure that the RCN and supporting shipyards continue to have the technical data required to support ongoing ship maintenance during planned docking work periods, while also providing local economic benefits. Work for the contract began in April 2020, and will continue until the fleet is retired in the early 2040s. This contract is expected to sustain an estimated 140 Canadian jobs.

Quotes

“The women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces deserve the best equipment and tools available. By investing in our fleet of Halifax class frigates, we will be able to provide our members in uniform what they need to continue advancing peace and security around the world. Our government's defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged is delivering real results for Canadians and those who protect us.”

The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence

“The National Shipbuilding Strategy continues to support the members of the Royal Canadian Navy and is reinvigorating the marine industry. This engineering service contract award to Fleetway Inc. of Halifax, Nova Scotia, will help provide our navy with safe, reliable ships to carry out their important work on behalf of the Government of Canada, while also creating jobs and generating significant economic benefits in the regions of Canada.”

The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Public Services and Procurement

“Our Halifax-class frigates remain the backbone of our Navy, enabling us to maintain our presence at sea both at home and abroad. As we continue to transition to our future fleet, it is essential that we continue to foster an environment that enables the RCN to keep our frigates floating, moving, and fighting. Fleetway Inc. brings world class technical data management and systems engineering support services which will help to ensure the RCN is ready to help, ready to lead and ready to fight.”

Vice-Admiral Art McDonald, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy

“Nova Scotians are deeply proud of the women and men in the Canadian Armed Forces, and it's fitting that companies across the province are providing important support to the National Shipbuilding Strategy. This contract with Fleetway Inc. will keep skilled workers employed here at home, while supporting the Canadian Armed Forces in their work abroad.”

Darren Fisher, Member of Parliament for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour

Quick facts

An initial contract of $72.6 million has been awarded to Fleetway Inc. for their services. It will be amended over the contract period based on the amount of work required for a total value of up to $552 million. This type of contract is fully compliant with our Sustainment Initiative, which ensures performance, value for money, flexibility, and economic benefits.

This contract is one of more than 100 existing support contracts required to effectively support maintenance of the Halifax-class.

This new in-service support contract will replace the services provided by Fleetway Inc. through the previous in-service support contract that will expire in October 2020. The new contract was awarded through an open, fair, and transparent procurement process.

All technical documentation, manuals, and engineering drawings of ship systems/equipment must be regularly updated to track any changes following maintenance or upgrades. This information is used to help monitor the state of the ship, and is also used by maintenance crews to support ongoing work.

Halifax-class ships monitor and control Canadian waters, defend Canada's sovereignty, facilitate large-scale search and rescue activities, and provide emergency assistance when needed. The ships operate with and integrate into the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and coalitions of allied states in support of international peace and security operations. Introduced into service in the 1990s, the Canadian-built Halifax-class ships were recently modernized to remain operationally effective and relevant until the Canadian Surface Combatants enter into service.

The Canadian Surface Combatants will replace the Halifax-class frigates and the retired Iroquois-class destroyers, and will ensure the RCN has modern and capable ships to monitor and defend Canada's waters, to continue to contribute to international naval operations for decades to come, and to rapidly deploy credible naval forces worldwide on short notice.

https://www.miragenews.com/canada-awards-contract-to-support-halifax-class-ship-maintenance/

On the same subject

November 15, 2018 | Local, C4ISR

NorthStar Earth and Space Inc. announces partnerships, $52 million in additional financing for global environment information platform
Telesystem Space, Canada, Quebec, Europe's Space Alliance, US-based KinetX form the NorthStar team MONTREAL, Nov. 15, 2018 /CNW/ - Human beings have left a legacy to Earth which threatens the sustainability of our planet and the livelihoods of future generations. The cause: a lack of tools to manage and monitor our impact on the environment. NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. (NorthStar E&S) is pleased to announce C$52 million in additional financing from strategic partners for the development of NorthStar, a global environment information platform which will transform humanity's ability to manage our impact on Earth and its natural resources. The Governments of Canada and Quebec are each contributing C$13 million. Private partners include Telesystem Space Inc. of Montreal, the majority shareholder, and the Space Alliance of Europe. Formed by Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space, the Space Alliance is a strategic partnership between Leonardo and Thales, the major industrial groups in the aerospace industry of Italy and France. This C$52 million sum adds to the C$31 million already contributed by NorthStar E&S's Canadian and US founding partners. The NorthStar platform is based on a 40-satellite constellation with sophisticated sensors and information delivery capability. NorthStar will enable new advances in continuous environmental management including pollution detection, charting the health of the world's oceans and rivers, enhancing the productivity of agriculture, wildfire alerts, and pipeline oil and gas monitoring to prevent spills and contamination. Around and above the planet, NorthStar's sensors will track orbital debris to reduce the probability of collisions and protect high-value assets in space. "Our goal is to empower humanity to preserve our planet," said NorthStar E&S CEO Stewart Bain. "Information provided by NorthStar will enable citizens, industry and governments to measure and manage our impact on the natural resources of Earth, creating a more sustainable world for now and for future generations. As a Canadian enterprise along with Telesystem Space, we welcome the participation of the governments of Canada and Quebec, and the Space Alliance, all critical to the success of our mission". According to The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, "NorthStar's project demonstrates how Canada'sspace sector is driving game-changing innovations and developing solutions for real-world problems. Our government's investment will help ensure that Quebec remains at the forefront of advanced information technology, creating good jobs for the middle-class and positioning Canada's economy to be globally competitive." "The growth of the aerospace industry in Quebec is directly linked to corporate innovation efforts," according to Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of the Economy and Innovation and Minister responsible for the Lanaudière region. "Our government reiterates its support for the growth of this industry, which is essential to Québec's economy, by enabling innovative companies to achieve their goals. That is why the Québec government is proud to support the NorthStar project, which will generate new expertise and quality jobs in the aerospace, the information and the communications technology sector." In a joint statement from The Space Alliance, Luigi Pasquali, CEO of Telespazio and Jean Loïc Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space said, "This investment in NorthStar is strategically in line with Space Alliance's global offer and we are convinced this solution will bring benefit to our customers and their priority needs". Commercial Earth Observation and Space Object Tracking services are rapid-growth areas and represent the future of the global space economy in Canada and abroad. When fully operational, NorthStar E&S expects to create an estimated 400 highly-skilled direct jobs and 1200 indirect jobs related to Big Data and Information Analytics, and support the expansion of aerospace, satellite design and sensor technology industries in Canada and abroad. Data services will be made available through NorthStar's AGILE (Applications for Global Innovation and Leadership) Centre Platform, in cooperation with a worldwide community of Applications Developers. AGILE Centres around the world will foster clusters of activity in Big Data and Predictive Analytics, the first generation of smart environmental protection apps. According to NorthStar CEO Bain, the first AGILE Centre will be based in Montreal, Canada. "With its talent base in the IT, AI and aerospace sectors and general quality of life which attracts the best and the brightest from around the world, Montreal is the ideal home for the NorthStar platform, " said Bain. Government of Canada funding includes C$9.5 million from the Strategic Innovation Fund and C$3.5 million from Economic Development Quebec Region. The Government of Quebec, via Le Fonds du développement économique (FDE), also invested C$13 million. With today's announcement, NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. has gathered a total of C$83 million for its NorthStar platform. ABOUT NORTHSTAR The space infrastructure will rely on a constellation of 40 satellites equipped with Hyperspectral, Infrared and Optical sensors. NorthStar will continuously detect and analyze the fine chemistry of objects on the complete surface of the Earth. Via proprietary data analysis and predictive analytics, NorthStar will deliver Earth Observation information with a dimension, precision, richness and timeliness never before available. NorthStar's Space Situational Awareness service will have the ability to identify, track and predict the trajectories of more than 300,000 objects in Earth's orbit, now classified as space debris, which is significantly more than currently possible. This information is critical for an expanding satellite industry owned and operated by both the private and public sectors. The founding shareholders of NorthStar E&S include Telesystem Ltd, based in Montreal, and US-based KinetX Inc. Telesystem Ltd, a media and technology holding company managed by the Sirois family, has built a successful track record as a leading global telecommunications player and with high growth technology start-ups. KinetX Inc is a US-based company which specializes in orbital dynamics and is the originator of the NorthStar concept. Telesystem Space Inc, the majority shareholder of NorthStar Earth and Space Inc, is a Canadian company jointly owned by Telesystem Ltd and an affiliate of Rogers Telecommunications Limited (RTL), created to help define and support the launch of the NorthStar global environment information platform. RTL is a private holding company of the Rogers family and together with affiliated companies controls Rogers Communications Inc, one of the largest telecommunications and media companies in Canada. SOURCE NorthStar Earth & Space For further information: Website: http://northstar-data.com/; Press Contact: Jean-Philippe Arseneau, 1-514-953-8597, jean-philippe.arseneau@northstar-data.com https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/northstar-earth-and-space-inc-announces-partnerships-52-million-in-additional-financing-for-global-environment-information-platform-700597581.html
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. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/boeing-confirms-it-is-taking-part-in-canadas-future-fighter-jet-competition
January 27, 2024 | Local, Aerospace

Estimated life-cycle cost of military's Cyclone choppers rises to $15.9B | CBC News
The Department of National Defence (DND) has revised its estimate of the lifetime cost of owning and operating the air force’s CH-148 Cyclones to $15.9 billion — slightly more than a billion dollars higher than its previous estimate.

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