Canadian Army surveillance vehicle project costing $533 million years behind schedule and facing 'multiple deficiencies'

On the same subject

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  December 10, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Québec Invests $350,000 in Zetane to Support Collaboration with Rheinmetall Canada to Develop Artificial Intelligence in Predictive Maintenance

  [Montreal Canada; December 10, 2020] Technology to avoid costly repairs and foresee critical equipment breakdowns for heavy-duty vehicles aims to go mainstream in Québec thanks to government support of a multi-phase innovation initiative. Specializing in the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in industry, the Montreal-region tech start-up Zetane Systems announced today funding to establish AI-powered predictive maintenance solutions with the defence contractor, Rheinmetall Canada , headquartered in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Investissement Québec (IQ) of the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation (MEI) contributed $350,000 in non-refundable financing--accounting for half the project costs--to support the first phase of the innovation project. “By employing artificial intelligence, Zetane contributes to reducing the costs related to the maintenance of heavy-duty vehicles and reduces our ecological footprint. Several sectors, such as aerospace and construction, will be able to gain important advantages from the technology developed by this innovative fledgeling company. It's innovation initiatives like this that reaffirms Québec's leadership in artificial intelligence,” highlighted the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon. Gaining funding support for such initiatives requires a highly competitive application process and detailed evaluation by experts in government and industry. Thanks to the collaboration of the Québec government, the project will serve to introduce new technologies and industrial processes with significant potential to improve economic, social and environmental factors in Québec. Of particular focus, funding of innovation initiatives serves to encourage the advancement of high-risk innovation projects that have much potential in ensuring Québec industry remains competitive. “Funding opportunities from the Québec government merit fervent support. They make collaboration between leading innovative companies such as Rheinmetall within reach, even during difficult economic times. Government investments in innovation are always a smart allocation of our resources that will ensure promising Québec startups with global appeal remain competitive and build further prosperity for all of us,” said the CEO and co-founder of Zetane, Guillaume Hervé. A more efficient means to foresee and prevent mechanical problems Several major industries--such as construction, aerospace, municipal works and mining--require managing fleets of heavy-duty vehicles. Whether it be trucks, planes or trains, ensuring these vehicles are well maintained avoids accidents and project delays. Being well maintained also reduces greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring that vehicles function at peak performance. A challenge these industries face today is an inability to customize maintenance schedules for individual vehicles, as well as an inability to predict equipment breakdowns with accuracy. AI provides a new means to analyse past maintenance requirements and process data from sensors on vehicles in order to predict mechanical wear-and-tear before problems arise. AI-powered machine vision technology also enables the automation of certain tasks in routine vehicle inspections. Zetane's particular strength in the project stems from the company's provision of a software platform designed specifically for a more intuitive and streamlined development of enterprise applications of AI. Once delivered, Rheinmetall Canada will gain unique AI technologies to better serve its clients with more efficient, accurate and less costly maintenance services and supply more performant transport vehicles. “Our strengths at Rheinmetall Canada stem from our embrace of technological change. Partnering with intrepid start-ups like Zetane not only gives us access to cutting-edge yet practical AI tools developed for enterprises, but also enables us to rapidly execute experimental proofs of concept that address specific customer needs” said Roger Bolduc, Senior Director of Engineering at Rheinmetall Canada. Benefits beyond innovation This innovation project aims to optimize Zetane's capacities to introduce predictive maintenance to diverse industries. Once complete, Zetane will use their experience with Rheinmetall to market AI predictive maintenance to new clients, enabling the Québecois start-up to expand service offerings both here and internationally. Additional future benefits of the project identified in the funding application include important social and environmental factors. One benefit is retaining and expanding rewarding job opportunities in technology both in Montreal and in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Environmental factors include lowered greenhouse gas emissions due to better-maintained vehicles. Health and safety factors include the possibility for safer work environments thanks to expected decreases in accidents caused by equipment failures. In addition to reducing operating costs in the for-profit sector, savings accrued from predictive maintenance for municipal vehicles have the potential to reduce the costs of tax-payer funded municipal works and civic services. About Zetane Systems Zetane Systems is a software technology company specializing in artificial intelligence. Our proprietary software easily integrates into existing AI platforms and provides a visual, intuitive workspace for building technology products in the AI subdomains of machine learning; the Zetane software provides a digital workspace to produce AI innovations. Zetane aims to make AI development more accessible and promote the technology industry's abilities to explain the inner workings of AI innovations. We do this by making AI more available to diverse professionals and industry verticals through our easy-to-learn-and-use software that complements and works with current popular AI development tools. About Rheinmetall Canada Rheinmetall Canada is a proud member of Germany's Rheinmetall Group, Europe's foremost supplier of army technology and a longstanding partner of armed forces. As an internationally recognized systems integrator, Rheinmetall Canada creates technologically advanced, fully-customised solutions for the global defence and security market. Located in its facilities in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Ottawa, and other locations throughout the world, over 375 employees put their expertise to work and push back their limits to ensure innovation and the success of each mandate. Ministry of Economy and Innovation on social media Facebook : facebook.com/EconomieQc LinkedIn : linkedin.com/company/économie-québec Twitter : twitter.com/economie_quebec Press contact: Jason Behrmann Director of Marketing and Communications info@zetane.com

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  August 29, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

  Canadian CH-147F Chinook crashed while executing turn shortly after clearing tree line: DND - Skies Mag

  Canada’s Department of National Defence Airworthiness Investigative Authority has issued the preliminary report into a fatal CH-47F Chinook helicopter crash.

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  April 16, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Security

  Longview delivers first production Viking CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter”

  Longview Aviation Services (LAS) of Calgary, Alta., in co-operation with Viking Air Limited of Victoria, B.C., announced the first Viking CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” has been delivered to launch customer Bridger Aerospace Group of Bozeman, Mont., U.S.A. Bridger Aerospace became the launch customer for the Viking CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” program after signing a multiple aircraft purchase agreement in May of 2018. The contract with all options exercised is valued at $204 million and covers the sale of six CL-415EAF amphibious aerial firefighting aircraft. Manufacturer's serial number (MSN) 1081, the first Canadair CL-215 to undergo the major modification to the EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” configuration, took its inaugural flight on March 9, 2020 outside of program-collaborator Cascade Aerospace's facility in Abbotsford, B.C. After application of Bridger's livery at International Aerospace Coatings' facility in Spokane, Wash., MSN 1081 flew over the central Rocky Mountain range to Bozeman, Mont., for delivery to Bridger Aerospace in advance of the 2020 North American wildfire season. Tim Sheehy, founder and CEO of Bridger Aerospace Group, stated, “Aggressive initial attack and advanced technology in support of the wildland firefighter are the core of Bridger's ethos. The Viking CL-415EAF is the most capable initial attack asset on the planet and we are proud to be the launch customer for this incredible capability.” Robert Mauracher, executive vice-president of Sales and Marketing for Viking, commented, “We are very excited and proud to be delivering our first Viking CL-415EAF Enhanced Aerial Firefighter to Bridger Aerospace in time for the 2020 North American wildfire season. The delivery of our first Enhanced Aerial Firefighter is the culmination of a multi-faceted collaborative project originally launched in 2018 and represents the solid partnership that has developed between Viking, LAS, and Bridger over the past 24 months. We are now looking forward to adding a second aircraft to their fleet in the coming months.” The CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” modification program, announced in 2018 as a collaboration between the two subsidiaries of Longview Aviation Capital, provides an economic boost throughout Western Canada derived from job creation, aerospace manufacturing innovation, supply chain development, academic partnerships, and global export opportunities. The Viking CL-415EAF modification program forms part of a staged approach to utilize the advancements made with the LAS converted aircraft as the basis for the proposed next-generation Viking CL-515 new-production aerial firefighting and multi-purpose amphibious aircraft. The Viking CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” is a specially selected CL-215 airframe converted to turbine configuration using Viking-supplied conversion kits. It features a new Collins Pro Line Fusion integrated digital avionics suite, Pratt & Whitney PW123AF turbine engines, increased fire-retardant capacity, and improvements to numerous aircraft systems. The Viking CL-415EAF represents the evolution of the type, providing best-in-class water drop performance utilizing the higher delivery two-door water drop system combined with a zero-timed maintenance program and a “new aircraft” factory-supported warranty program. All obsolete components impacting the worldwide fleet of CL-215 & CL-415 aircraft are replaced in the CL- 415EAF, and the upgraded aircraft is designed to failsafe FAR 25 certification criteria with no preset life limit. The very short scooping distance of the CL-415EAF aircraft is expected to outperform competitors from initial attack to sustained major fire suppression, and the combination of safety and longevity represents exceptional value inherent in purpose-built aerial firefighting amphibious aircraft. The CL-415EAF aircraft is the only aerial firefighter with factory OEM support offered by Viking's Customer Service and Product Support division, including management of all Continuing Airworthiness, warranty items, in-service engineering, initial provisioning, as well as offering Viking's M+ all-inclusive maintenance support program. All improvements and obsolescence issues addressed in the CL-415EAF aircraft will become the new aircraft production standard in the manufacture of an all new, next generation CL-515 multi-purpose amphibious aircraft. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/longview-delivers-first-production-viking-cl-415eaf-enhanced-aerial-firefighter