September 12, 2019 | Local, Land
By DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
A $2 billion dollar contract for new armoured vehicles was quietly signed with General Dynamics Land Systems earlier this month.
The Liberal government originally announced Aug. 18 that negotiations were underway for the sole source deal to purchase 360 combat support Light Armoured Vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada in London, ON.
A notice on the federal government's procurement website noted that Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of National Defence, awarded the contract to General Dynamics valued at $2 billion on Sept. 5. That cost includes initial spare parts, technical manuals and training.
Public Services and Procurement Canada did not issue a news release about the major award. The department did not respond to a request for comment.
The overall project is estimated to cost $3 billion but that includes in-service support, construction of new facilities and other support to the program.
The combat support Light Armoured Vehicles was originally announced by the Liberal government with an estimated cost between $500 million and $1.5 billion. The plan was to award the contract in 2023 after a competition between defence firms.
But with the federal election looming the deal was fast-tracked by the Liberals, joining a series of recent defence-related funding announcements. A competition was jettisoned, replaced with a sole-source deal with General Dynamics.
The deal includes a $650 million repayable loan to General Dynamics. Details have not been released.
General Dynamics will provide the new vehicles in eight variants. They will be used as ambulances and in other roles such as vehicle recovery, engineering, mobile repair, electronic warfare and as command posts. The current fleet of armoured support vehicles is comprised of the LAV II Bison and the M113 tracked vehicle.
The DND stated the contract was sole-sourced to General Dynamics as the firm builds most other armoured vehicles for the Canadian Forces and having a vehicle based on the same chassis allows for savings in maintenance and training.
December 17, 2023 | Local, Security
Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, accompanied by General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, are visiting Latvia – home to Canada’s largest foreign military deployment
June 17, 2020 | Local, Aerospace
David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen The cost of modernizing the planes used by the Snowbirds aerobatic team has more than doubled and could end up costing more than three times the original amount because of the needed upgrades. The Department of National Defence had budgeted $26 million to keep the Snowbirds aircraft operating until at least 2030, according to a briefing provided to aerospace industry representatives last year in Ottawa and obtained by this newspaper. DND officials couldn't explain Monday the difference in the cost estimates but when aerospace industry representatives were briefed last year the project at that point included modernizing aircraft avionics. The project details on the DND website have added a new ejection seat as well as modernized communications and navigation equipment for the Snowbirds CT-114 Tutor jets. Questions about the ejection seats in the Tutor aircraft fleet emerged after Capt. Jennifer Casey, the team's public affairs officer, died on May 17 when the Snowbirds aircraft she was a passenger in crashed in Kamloops, B.C. Video of the incident appears to show Casey and Capt. Richard MacDougall, the pilot of the CT-114 Tutor aircraft, eject from the plane shortly before it slammed into the ground. MacDougall survived with serious injuries. A Canadian Forces flight safety team has focused its investigation into the crash on a possible bird strike as well as on the performance of the aircraft's escape system, the team noted in a statement. A witness at the crash scene claimed that Casey's parachute did not open. The Canadian military knew in 2016 the ejection seat on Snowbirds aircraft needed to be upgraded but it acknowledged it is still only in the early stages of modernizing that system. The Royal Canadian Air Force has now started a project to upgrade the parachutes on the ejection seats. During the briefing last year, aerospace industry officials were told a request for bids to upgrade the Tutor jets would be issued next year. A contract would be awarded that same year, the briefing noted. The first of the upgraded CT-114 Tutors would be ready for the Snowbirds in 2022, according to the industry briefing. The project would be finished by 2025 with all upgraded planes delivered by then. “The project will life extend the CT-114 Tutor until the year 2030,” industry officials were told. The avionics upgrade is required if the planes are to continue flying in North American airspace. The Department of National Defence stated in an email to this newspaper that the analysis of what is needed for the aircraft modernization is almost complete. “The project is progressing into definition where design, engineering and prototyping will take place over the next 18 months,” the email noted. The cost to modernize the Tutors pales in comparison with the proposed price tag for replacing the aircraft. That project could cost between $500 million and $1.5 billion, according to the DND. The planes have been in the Canadian Forces inventory since 1963 and have been used by the Snowbirds since 1971. The Tutors were supposed to have been retired in 2010, but that date was then extended to 2020. The latest extension allows the aircraft to fly until at least 2030. The Royal Canadian Air Force, however, is facing a potential dilemma with replacing the aircraft. The federal government has indicated it wants the aerobatic team to continue operating and the Snowbirds are seen as a key public relations tool for the military. But some in the Canadian Forces have privately questioned spending money on the Snowbirds because they do not directly contribute combat capabilities to the air force. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/modernization-program-for-snowbirds-aircraft-jumps-in-price
October 27, 2022 | Local, C4ISR
Media representatives are advised that senior officials from the Communications Security Establishment's Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) will be holding a news conference to discuss Canada's third National Cyber Threat Assessment report (NCTA 2023-2024). The news conference is open to accredited journalists and will be facilitated by teleconference. Journalists may request an embargoed copy of the National Cyber Threat Assessment 2023-2024 report from the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) Media Relations Office. All information will be embargoed until 11:00 am on October 28, 2022. Press conference Date: October 28, 2022 Time: 11:00 am Location: Teleconference Journalists who wish to participate by teleconference may contact CSE Media Relations for call-in details. https://www.canada.ca/en/communications-security/news/2022/10/news-conference-and-technical-briefing-by-the-communications-security-establishments-canadian-centre-for-cyber-security-on-the-national-cyber-threa.html