CF-18 Demonstration Team celebrates RCAF centennial with 20-city performance schedule - Skies Mag

On the same subject

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  June 11, 2018 | Local, Naval

  Joint Support Ship cost up by $1.1 billion - taxpayers will now spend $3.4 billion on project

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Taxpayers will have to spend $1.1 billion extra on new navy supply ships that are going to be built starting this summer, the Liberal government now acknowledges. Previously the cost of building the two ships at Seaspan shipyards in Vancouver, BC had been pegged at $2.3 billion. But the government ordered a review of that cost figure and in an email to Postmedia, Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough's office now confirms the cost for the Joint Support Ships, or JSS, is set at $3.4 billion. Pat Finn, the head of procurement at the Department of National Defence, said the new price tag came as the government decided to do an additional analysis of the project and include other items it had not previously included. In some cases equipment for the ship has been purchased so there are better costs available on those items, Finn said in an interview Monday. Also taken into account was new infrastructure and the delays with the program, which, in turn, drove up the price as the cost of material increased over the years. “The build period has changed quite dramatically,” Finn acknowledged. At one point, the first ship was supposed to arrive in 2012. That has been changed a number of times with the government later hoping for a 2018 delivery and then a 2019 arrival for the first vessel. The Department of National Defence is now hoping for the delivery of the first ship in 2022 or 2023. Construction will begin at Seaspan this summer of some initial portions of the vessels, Finn said. The government hopes starting construction on the supply ships in the summer will head off any potential layoffs of skilled employees at Seaspan. Finn said of the $3.4 billion figure, the actual cost of building the two ships accounts for a little more than 60 per cent. Finn said the new costing model for the JSS is more akin to the one used by the parliamentary budget office. That office had an even higher estimate for JSS when it concluded in 2013 that the final tally for taxpayers would be $4.13 billion. The Joint Support Ships are critical for the navy as they provide fuel and supplies for warships at sea. But the Royal Canadian Navy retired its last two aging supply ships years ago. One was damaged beyond repair in a fire. The other was removed from service because of excessive corrosion. The Canadian military had been relying on the Spanish and Chilean navies to provide supply vessels for short periods of time to help fuel up Canadian warships at sea. Because of the delays in the JSS program, the previous Conservative government entered into agreement with Davie Shipyards in Quebec to lease a commercial vessel that had been converted into a refueling and supply ship. That ship, the MV Asterix, is at the heart of federal government's case against Vice Admiral Mark Norman. Norman has been accused by the RCMP of warning Davie in the fall of 2015 that Liberal cabinet ministers wanted to derail the Asterix project. Word of the Liberal plan leaked out to the news media and the resulting embarrassment forced the Trudeau government to back down on its plans and the conversion of Asterix proceeded. Norman was put under investigation and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau predicted on two occasions the officer would ultimately end up in court. In March, the RCMP charged Norman with a single count of breach of trust. A date for the trial has not yet been set. Norman denies the charge and has said he looks forward to clearing his name. Asterix is considered a rare achievement in Canadian military procurement in that it was delivered on time and on budget. The supply ship is now at sea with Royal Canadian Navy and is headed to a major military exercise to begin later this month. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/joint-support-ship-cost-up-by-1-1-billion-taxpayers-will-now-spend-3-4-billion-on-project

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  May 7, 2020 | Local, Land

  General Dynamics saw $1 billion bump after Canada-Saudi accord

  By: Joe Gould   1 day ago WASHINGTON ― General Dynamics has received $1 billion since the renegotiation of a $10 billion contract for Canada to sell light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia, company officials said on its first quarter earnings call. In a deal last month, Canada lifted its ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which in turn agreed to a speedier payment schedule for the LAVs. Canada had the vehicles on hold since 2018, following the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi; and by October, Saudi Arabia had racked up $1.5 billion in back payments to General Dynamics. Amid news on the April 29 call that the company's revenue fell $512 million in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, General Dynamics Chief Financial Officer Jason Aiken highlighted “the formal signing of the restructured contract on the Canadian international program, which settled all issues to the satisfaction of the parties.” “With respect to our standing receivable you may recall that we received $500 million early in the first quarter and we received another $500 million this month. This will be very helpful to free cash flow in the second quarter,” Aiken said. “We will begin a regular cadence of scheduled payments in 2021 consistent with deliveries and making further progress in the scheduled amortization of the arrearage.” The company's Combat Systems division had revenue of $1.7 billion, up 4.4 percent over the same quarter last year, and sales to the U.S. government were up 12 percent. The firm's aerospace business segment also had revenue of $1.7 billion, but that represented a 23 percent fall from the same quarter last year. On April 9, Canada's foreign affairs minister, François-Philippe Champagne, announced Ottawa was “able to secure significant improvements” to the LAV contract, including more latitude for the Canadian government to speak about it. Under the new terms, Canada could also delay or deny export permits without penalty if it learned Saudi Arabia was not using the vehicles for their stated purpose. Ottawa would also be reviewing permit applications on a case-by-case basis to ensure they meet Canadian law and the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. Though the Trudeau government has been under political pressure to scrap the LAV deal over human rights concerns, Champagne said its cancellation would have “resulted in billions of dollars in damages” and risked thousands of Canadian jobs across the defense supply chain. The vehicles are made by the General Dynamics Land Systems subsidiary in London, Ontario. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/05/07/general-dynamics-saw-1-billion-bump-after-canada-saudi-accord

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  September 14, 2022 | Local, Aerospace

  Eye in the sky: Diamond Aircraft's DA62 MPP special mission platform - Skies Mag

  Diamond Aircraft’s special mission flagship, the DA62 MPP, is proving that a light fixed-wing aircraft is ideal for surveillance missions, thanks to the aircraft’s cost-effectiveness and increased capability.