Canada purchasing up to 16 P-8A Poseidon Multi Mission Aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force

On the same subject

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  November 11, 2019 | Local, Naval

  Halifax Shipyard launches Canada’s second Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship

  HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Nov. 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Royal Canadian Navy's second Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS), the future HMCS Margaret Brooke, was launched today, Nov. 10, 2019, at Halifax Shipyard. The launch of the second of six AOPS for the Royal Canadian Navy, marks a significant milestone for Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) and the revitalization of the Royal Canadian Navy's combatant fleet. The 103-metre future HMCS Margaret Brooke transitioned from Halifax Shipyard's land level facility to a submersible barge on Nov. 8, 2019 and launched in the Bedford Basin today. The ship is now pier side at Halifax Shipyard where work continues to prepare the ship for sea trials and handover to the Royal Canadian Navy late next year. The future HMCS Margaret Brooke joins Canada's lead AOPS, the future HMCS Harry DeWolf, pier side at Halifax Shipyard. The future HMCS Harry DeWolf is in the final stages of construction and is preparing for initial builder sea trials at the end of November. Inside Halifax Shipyard's facilities, the Royal Canadian Navy's third and fourth AOPS, the future HMCS Max Bernay and the future HMCS William Hall, are under construction. The first two major sections of the future HMCS Max Bernay are scheduled to be moved outside in spring 2020. Canada's NSS was created to replace the current surface fleets of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard. Over the next few decades, Halifax Shipyard will build six AOPS for the Royal Canadian Navy, two AOPS for the Canadian Coast Guard, and 15 Canadian Surface Combatants for the Royal Canadian Navy. As a result of the NSS, Irving Shipbuilding has become one of Atlantic Canada's largest regional employers, with thousands of Canadians now working in skilled, well-paying jobs. Halifax Shipyard, long at the centre of Canadian shipbuilding, is now home to the most modern, innovative shipbuilding facilities, equipment, and processes in North America. Halifax Shipyard is also continuing its legacy as the Halifax-class In-Service Support Centre of Excellence, with HMCS Charlottetown currently in the graving dock for an extensive docking work period. Quote Kevin McCoy, President, Irving Shipbuilding “Congratulations to our more than 2,000 shipbuilders on today's successful launch of the future HMCS Margaret Brooke. It is exciting to have two Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships in the water and closer to being in use by the Royal Canadian Navy's sailors.” Media Contact: Sean Lewis Director of Communications Irving Shipbuilding Inc. T: 902-484-4595 E: Lewis.Sean@IrvingShipbuilding.com https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/11/10/1944417/0/en/Halifax-Shipyard-launches-Canada-s-second-Arctic-and-Offshore-Patrol-Ship.html

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  November 26, 2019 | Local, Other Defence

  U.S. sent ‘blunt’ letter to Canada criticizing defence spending: sources

  BY MERCEDES STEPHENSON AND KERRI BREEN Canada has been officially called out by the United States over how much it spends on the military, Global News has learned. A “blunt” letter from the U.S. government was delivered to the Department of National Defence that criticized Canadian defence spending levels and repeated American demands that Canada meet NATO targets. Global News has not seen the letter — said to have a frustrated, critical tone — but multiple sources have confirmed it was sent and received. U.S. President Donald Trump has long called for members of the 29-nation military alliance to beef up their budgets for defence. His national security adviser Robert O'Brien, who spoke Saturday at the Halifax International Security Forum, said getting NATO members to meet the established target — two per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — is an urgent priority. “There are very serious threats to our freedom and our security and if NATO is going to be effective, and if we want to put our money where our talk is, we got to spend that money to defend ourselves,” he said. Nations including Canada agreed at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales​ to move towards the military spending target within a decade, he noted. “We expect our friends and our colleagues to live up to their commitments and their promises,” he said. He also praised Canada's plan to build and deploy Arctic patrol vessels. The North, he said, is going to be the new “frontline” of defence, as Russia and China have made it clear they are going to militarize the Arctic. One Canadian source told Global News that the U.S. is concerned that Canada does not take the threat from those countries in the Arctic seriously and wants the country to boost its contributions in that area. Just seven countries — including the U.S. and the U.K. — have met NATO's two per cent of GDP spending goal, according to figures released in June. NATO's estimates show Canada is expected to spend 1.27 per cent of its GDP on the military this year, up from about one per cent in 2014. Canada does fare better when you look at its defence budget in dollars and cents, said Dave Perry, vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. The country spends the sixth highest amount overall among NATO members on its military. As for meeting the percentage of GDP target, Perry's not optimistic despite planned increases in the defence budget. “Canada is not on a path to live up to the commitments that we were signing up for in 2014 in Wales,” he said. Last year, Canada spent about $22.9 billion on the Department of National Defence. But Ottawa intends to dramatically boost military spending in the coming years. In 2017, the government released a plan to increase the budget to almost $33 billion annually within a decade. Asked about the letter from the U.S., Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan touted this plan to strengthen spending. Discussions around “burden sharing” within the bloc have been happening for some time, he said. He noted that under the government's plan, the defence budget would see an increase of 70 per cent, a “significant amount.” “The relationship with Canada and the U.S., the defence relationship, I think, is even stronger now, because they see a tangible plan that we have created,” he said on an episode of The West Block that aired Sunday. “It's working, actually, extremely well.” The U.S. sending such a letter is an unusual, formal means of relaying a message, and it represents an escalation from previous attempts to get Canada to spend more on its military. That pressure has been increasing in recent weeks ahead of the NATO summit in London starting on Dec. 3. In fact, the same message has been conveyed in multiple ways to the federal government, a diplomatic source said, and NATO itself also wants to see more military spending from Canada. In July, however, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg suggested publicly he was happy with improvements in Canadian defence spending. “Under your leadership,” he said to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, ​​”Canada has stepped up its contributions to our NATO alliance including with forces for NATO missions and operations and increased spending.” But one former defence minister said the letter from the U.S. — NATO's leader in defence spending in relation to its GDP — was not a good sign. Peter MacKay said such a letter amounts to “a very serious diplomatic slap — not on the wrist, but in the face.” During his time in government, the former Nova Scotia Conservative MP said he had talks with defence secretaries regarding Canadian military spending and the country's goal of reaching two per cent. “Those discussions can be forceful and frank but they took place face to face,” said MacKay, who was defence minister for six years under former prime minister Stephen Harper. “Sending a démarche (diplomatic letter) is really ratcheting it up a notch.” https://globalnews.ca/news/6210623/canada-defence-spending-nato/

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  October 4, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  Sea King disposal underway

  by Lisa Gordon The 55-year reign of the Canadian Sea King is coming to a close. In December, a crew from 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron in Patricia Bay, B.C., will fly the CH-124 Sea King on its last flight for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Earlier this year, their counterparts at 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron in Shearwater, N.S., marked the aircraft's final East Coast mission on Jan. 26, 2018. While five helicopters are still operational until the end of the year in B.C., Canada's remaining 23 Sea Kings have been retired and are currently making their way through the fleet disposal process. Administered by the Department of National Defence (DND) and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), this process aims to repurpose, sell or otherwise dispose of the old helicopters in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. While final arrangements for the aircraft are subject to change, DND told Skies on Oct. 2 that eight of the 28 remaining aircraft will be publicly displayed by the Canadian Armed Forces at various military bases and museums across the country. Another airframe will be retained by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as a training aid, and one will be displayed at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. Three aircraft were demilitarized and scrapped due to their poor condition, with components being recycled where possible. The remaining 15 Sea Kings and their associated parts — 12 are currently located at 12 Wing Shearwater and three are at Patricia Bay — are now for sale, a process that is being administered by PSPC. “Essentially, we have a website that is used to source interest for controlled and sensitive assets that are for sale,” explained Josée Doucet, manager of the GCMil group at PSPC, which deals with the disposal of surplus Canadian military goods. “In this case, we put the Sea Kings up for sale. Once we had expressions of interest, we held a bidders' conference on Sept. 26 in Shearwater, to showcase those aircraft. It gave bidders the chance to look at them, ask questions regarding the assets, and gave them an idea of what they are bidding on.” The helicopters are being sold in “as is, where is” condition. Doucet said she was very pleased by the number of potential bidders who attended the Shearwater event. “Now, the interested parties will receive a package from my office and be invited to submit a bid. There will be a timeline as to when we will start reviewing offers.” While Doucet said that timeline has not yet been finalized with DND, she indicated the goal would be to have a purchase agreement in place by the time the Sea Kings cease flying on Dec. 31. “It's a very aggressive timeline, so the offer to purchase dates will respect that.” Preparing for Sale Before the Sea Kings went on the market, controlled goods and military equipment were removed from the airframes wherever possible. Doucet said all Canadian bidders must be registered in the Controlled Goods Program. Interested foreign purchasers must be enrolled in their nation's equivalent program, which allows them to view military assets. “We have a number of processes. We only deal with registered Canadian companies, pre-approved foreign governments or authorized representatives of original equipment manufacturers. Only then would they be allowed to bid.” While Doucet declined to estimate the Sea Kings' worth, she said a myriad of factors are considered when selecting the winning bid. These include single-asset or full-lot bids, depreciation, condition of the fleet, and the costs to DND to maintain the helicopters as they await sale. “We also look to see if a bidder has an approved clear end use for the helicopters. What is the likelihood of obtaining export approval, as well as third-party approval from the country of acquisition — in this case the United States. We look at all that, because we don't want to exert efforts in an area that would not be fruitful.” Ultimately, she said fleet value will be driven by market demand. “I would have to say that from a commercial application perspective, the Sea King fleet has a lot of life left in it. Whether the fleet will be used as a gap measure, or to refurbish and resell, or to convert to commercial applications, the value will be subject to its intended end use.” A Lasting Legacy Canada accepted its first CH-124 Sea King at the Sikorsky plant in Connecticut on May 24, 1963. Since then, the maritime helicopter has earned its legendary status in the Canadian Armed Forces, serving with distinction on Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Bonaventure (the country's last aircraft carrier, retired in 1970), as well as on St. Laurent-class destroyer escorts, Iroquois-class destroyers, auxiliary oiler replenishment ships, and Halifax-class frigates. No other aircraft in Canadian service has ever commanded such a lasting multi-generational legacy. While 15 Sea Kings are destined for new homes, nine will remain on public display to ensure its story will never be forgotten. It's a fitting tribute to a King that ruled the waves for more than half a century. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/sea-king-disposal-underway