Back to news

January 24, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

Canada to keep paying for F-35 development as fighter-jet competition ramps up

LEE BERTHIAUME, OTTAWA, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Canada is poised to contribute tens of millions of dollars toward further development of the F-35 stealth fighter even as the federal government wrestles with whether to buy the plane or not.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, the Department of National Defence's head of military procurement says there are no plans for Canada to quit as one of nine partner countries in the F-35 stealth fighter program until after the Trudeau government completes the competition to determine which fighter jet will replace Canada's aging fleet of CF-18s.

“We're committed to staying there (in the program) until we understand where the competition will bring us,” said Patrick Finn, assistant deputy minister of material at National Defence.

The competition is expected to be launched this spring.

The F-35 is one of four planes currently slated to participate in the $19-billion competition, which will result in the purchase of 88 new fighter aircraft to serve as the air force's backbone for the coming decades.

The Trudeau Liberals campaigned on a promise not to buy the F-35s in 2015, but have since backed away from that pledge. The Harper Conservatives first announced plans to buy 65 F-35s in 2010, but ran into controversy over cost.

Staying on as a partner in the F-35 program comes with advantages, Finn says, including the ability for Canadian companies to compete for billions of dollars in contracts associated with building and maintaining the stealth fighter.

Partners are also allowed to buy the F-35 at a lower price than non-partners, who must pay a variety of fees and other costs to purchase the plane.

“We want to keep the F-35 as an option, as a contender in the competition,” Finn said.

“We want to also make sure that while that's unfolding, that Canadian industry that have competitively won contracts get to continue to do that.”

The Defence Department says Canadian companies have won more than $1.25-billion in F-35-related contracts over the years.

Yet there are also costs to being a partner; Canada has so far invested more than $500-million into the program over the past 20 years, including $54-million last year.

Its next annual payment is due this spring and there will likely be more as the competition isn't scheduled to select a winner until 2021 or 2022. The first new aircraft is expected in 2025 and the last in 2031.

There are some technical issues that government officials are working through that could impact how it runs the competition to replace the CF-18s.

One of those is how to ensure the various bids are all measured equally. In addition to Lockheed Martin's F-35, bids are expected from Boeing's Super Hornet, Eurofighter's Typhoon and Saab's Gripen.

All four companies recently provided feedback on a draft process that the government has drawn up to run the competition, and another round of consultations is scheduled for mid-February.

A big question facing Lockheed is how it can meet Ottawa's usual requirement that companies who are awarded large military contracts invest back into Canada on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

The F-35 partnership agreement that Canada signed with the other countries bars such promised investments and instead stipulates that companies must compete for the work.

Finn said all four jet companies have unique challenges and circumstances, and that officials in charge of the competition could inject some flexibility into how the requirement is handled.

“There is absolutely flexibility and I would say my colleagues in (the federal industry department) demonstrate that on a weekly, monthly basis,” he said.

“They would be the first to say, and they're very good at saying, is: ‘Well listen, the first intent is to get the right military capability. We want to have the offsets as well, and with a given market segment, what it is that we do and how do we do it.“'

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canada-to-keep-paying-for-f-35-development-as-fighter-jet-competition

On the same subject

  • RCAF may not need seven of the 25 used Australian F-18s, says defence procurement chief

    March 15, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

    RCAF may not need seven of the 25 used Australian F-18s, says defence procurement chief

    DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Defence department's procurement chief says the Royal Canadian Air Force might not need the seven used Australian F-18 aircraft being purchased for parts afterall. Canada is buying 25 used F-18s from Australia, with 18 of those to be flown and seven to be either stripped down for parts or used for testing. The aircraft to be flown will augment the existing RCAF CF-18 fleet until a new generation fighter jet can be purchased. But Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence's Assistant Deputy Minister for Materiel, said there may be no need for the seven F-18s. “The seven, whether or not we actually take them at this point, we're still looking at that,” Finn recently told the Commons defence committee. “What we're actually finding is the number of spares that they've been able to provide to us is more than adequate. Rather than take aircraft apart and go through that cost, we're taking the spares. We may not, in fact, at this point look at any of the seven.” It is unclear whether there will be a reduction in the cost of the purchase or the overall project cost if the seven airframes are not acquired. The DND also clarified what is happening with the engines on the Australian F-18s. Rumours have been circulating in the retired military community that the engines are being stripped out of the planes and given back to Australia. “Only the engines from the first two Australian F-18s (four engines total) are being returned to Australia, at their request,” explained DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier. “Australia needs those engines to meet their own operational requirements.” In order to take advantage of an advanced delivery date for the first two Australian aircraft, Canada agreed to return those aircraft's engines to Australia, but the plan is to get an equivalent number of engines back at a later date, he added. “Canada has sufficient engines in reserve to support this plan and this will have no impact on operations,” Le Bouthillier stated. “We therefore found this to be a reasonable request, and agreed to it.” https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/rcaf-may-not-need-7-of-the-25-used-australian-f-18s-says-defence-procurement-chief

  • Cybersecurity in aviation: Risks and safety concerns - Skies Mag

    September 6, 2022 | Local, C4ISR

    Cybersecurity in aviation: Risks and safety concerns - Skies Mag

    While the digital transformation of the aviation industry has made air travel more efficient, new technologies are a double-edged sword serving as additional entry points for cybercriminals to cause disruptions.

  • CAE launches new virtual reality trainer

    December 3, 2019 | Local, Aerospace, Other Defence

    CAE launches new virtual reality trainer

    By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Air Force looks increasingly toward virtual reality for speeding up and cutting the cost of pilot training, Canadian defense firm CAE is stepping forward with own courseware and virtual reality system with the hopes of attracting interest from the U.S. and international militaries. CAE will debut its CAE TRAX Academy curriculum and Sprint Virtual Reality trainer this week at the Interservice/Industry, Training, Simulation and Education Conference. Throughout the show, the company plans to conduct T-6 flight demonstrations using both products. CAE was inspired by the U.S. Air Force's Pilot Training Next program, which uses virtual reality and other cutting-edge simulation technologies to immerse new pilots in flight training, allowing airment to move more quickly and effectively through training. But CAE is hoping to build on the principles of Pilot Training Next and package it to be purchased by the U.S. Air Force and international militaries, said Phillipe Perey, the head of technology for CAE's defense business. “With Pilot Training Next, everyone is looking with big eyes saying, ‘Wow, oh wow,' but [some generals] are sort of like, ‘Would you really embrace this and do that for your entire air force?'” he said. “So perhaps this is a way of taking the great mission of Pilot Training Next and bringing into that environment with many of the key capabilities that customers have been used to, [such as] true aircraft simulation and many other aspects like a force-feedback stick.” All of the Sprint virtual reality trainer's hardware — including the Varjo VR-2 headset — are commercial off-the-shelf products and can be modified or swapped with a different device to meet the customer's needs. The real value, Perey said, is the software and courseware of TRAXX Academy, in which students progress from mobile apps and VR trainers to a higher fidelity flight simulator. “I think it really drives efficiencies at two levels. One, it reduces costs because the students in there are able to progress at their own pace. Them being alpha personalities; they don't want to be average. They want to be top of class, and they will see how other students are performing and they will be able to pick up their pace,” he said, adding that a six month class could take four months or less to complete if students are driven to complete the coursework. Secondly, the use of self-paced tools and virtual instructors decreases the need for human instructors that could be filling other needed functions within an air force, Perey said. In developing the Sprint VR trainer, CAE started with same kit as used in the Pilot Training Next program, and tweaked it to create “a better self-paced learning environment," he said. CAE made a number of adjustments: Using the same software on the virtual reality trainer as the full flight simulator, substituting a joystick that better simulates G forces, and adding haptics so that pilots can feel vibration or other sensory feedback that they would normally expect while operating the aircraft. Perey said CAE is looking forward to briefing the U.S. Air Force on TRAXX Academy and the Sprint VR trainer during I/ITSEC and getting officials' feedback. “That's really the priority now in the next coming months, is to build out these devices, get them in the customer's hands, get their feedback and develop a solution that is tailored to their particular training needs,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/itsec/2019/12/02/cae-launches-new-virtual-reality-trainer

All news