CF Snowbirds grounded in ‘operational pause’ as crash investigation continues - Skies Mag

On the same subject

• 

  August 6, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  DND looking at acquiring drones to replace those damaged in crashes earlier this year

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Department of National Defence is looking at buying two more drones to replace those damaged in crashes earlier this year. Two of the Blackjack uninhabited aerial vehicles were damaged beyond economical repair on Jan. 31 and March 21. The damage occurred during training flights, one of which involved a collision with the recovery system. In late June there were articles in the U.S. defence press about Boeing subsidiary Insitu receiving new contracts for RQ-21A Blackjack small unhabituated aerial vehicles from the U.S. government and other countries including Canada. But the DND says the claims about Canada proceeding with a purchase are premature. Canada announced in 2016 that it was acquiring small uninhabited aerial system or SUAS (RQ-21A Blackjack) from the U.S. through a Foreign Military Sale. The federal government bought one complete system so far. That package includes four aircraft with one spare, which was delivered to the 4th Artillery Regiment (General Support) in CFB Gagetown. With the crashes earlier this work is underway at the DND on whether to proceed with replacing those aircraft. “We are assessing the possibility of making use of the provisions in this contract to purchase replacement aircraft, as two units were damaged beyond economical repair earlier this year,” explained DND spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande. Flight safety investigations are ongoing in order to determine cause and assess preventative measures, she added. Discussions are ongoing with the U.S. so costs and a timeline for replacements is not yet known. “We are also exploring the possibility of purchasing a second system, though internal discussions are still ongoing and no final decision has yet been made,” Lamirande said. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/dnd-looking-at-acquiring-drones-to-replace-those-damaged-in-crashes-earlier-this-year

• 

  March 14, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Canadian military wants retired pilots to come back - system needs to be flexible to allow that, says general

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Canadian Forces says it is bringing in new initiatives to boost the numbers of pilots and the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk recently outlined some of those for Members of Parliament. At the Commons defence committee Feb. 28 Wynnyk pointed out the issue of pilots who are assigned to staff jobs but who want to keep flying. He suggested there could be changes that will allow that but didn't provide many details. Wynnyk did note that the call will be sent out for retired pilots to come back to the RCAF. “We're reaching out to retired individuals from the Canadian Forces and seeing if they'd like to join and particularly making it more flexible for pilots who have retired to go into the reserves to perhaps look at ways of getting into Cold Lake, Bagotville, or wherever we need to fly them,” he told MPs. Wynnyk also mentioned “potential bonuses” but didn't provide details. Late last year RCAF commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger told MPs the reasons behind the fighter pilots leaving but money appeared to be low on the list of issues forcing pilots to leave. “Certainly the feedback from those who are releasing is it's a question of family, challenges for their family,” Meinzinger explained to the Public Accounts committee. “There's a dimension of ops tempo, work-life balance, predictability in terms of geographical location, and then typically fifth or sixth are comments about financial remuneration.” “We find that, unless there's a degree of predictability and positive career management over that individual, we often find individuals who are vexed,” Meinzinger further explained. “They come up to a point where they may not have anticipated they were going to move, or we're asking them to move their family to a location where perhaps their spouse cannot find employment.” Another factor is that some fighter pilots are not happy being streamed into administrative jobs. They want to keep flying. “We find a lot of individuals often don't wish to move to headquarters and work in an office versus work in an aircraft,” the RCAF commander acknowledged. “We recognize that and respect it. But that dialogue, which must happen at the margin, before we force an individual to move, is very, very important.” The U.S. Air Force has had mixed results with its bonuses offered to stem the exodus of various pilots to commercial aviation jobs. Last year the USAF announced that, for the first time, some bomber, fixed-wing combat search-and-rescue, special operations, mobility and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance pilots would be eligible for the same maximum bonus that were previously given only to fighter pilots, Stephen Losey of Air Force Times wrote in December 2018. That maximum is $420,000 but to receive that a pilot must commit to serving 12 more years. “But turning on the cash spigot appears to have had limited effect,” Losey wrote. “According to statistics provided by the Air Force, the overall percentage of eligible manned aircraft pilots agreeing to take the bonuses — known as the take rate — increase from 44 percent in 2017 to 45 percent in 2018. That halted two years of declines, after the take rates dropped from 55 percent in 2015 to 48 percent in 2016, and to 44 percent in 2017. But even though the take rate ticked up, overall number of pilots signing up for retention bonuses dropped from 476 to 418, the statistics showed.” Losey's article is here: https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/12/10/alarming-number-of-mobility-pilots-decline-bonuses-to-keep-flying-overall-bonus-take-rates-tick-up-slightly/ https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-wants-retired-pilots-to-come-back-trying-to-make-system-flexible-to-allow-for-that

• 

  September 26, 2022 | Local, Aerospace

  Defence Minister Anita Anand Announces Enhancements to RCAF Mobility Capabilities to Support Ukraine and Other Global Missions

  September 26, 2022 – Ottawa, Ontario – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces Today, Defence Minister Anita Anand announced that the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is enhancing its air mobility operations based in Europe as it conducts ongoing missions there and around the world. Since late March 2022, RCAF members operating two CC-130J Hercules aircraft have been conducting operations from a hub based out of Prestwick, Scotland. The hub's personnel have now delivered 4 million pounds of cargo – largely military aid in support of Ukraine. To increase capacity and operational flexibility, Canada is adding a third CC-130J Hercules aircraft to the detachment, and deploying support personnel responsible for maintenance, cargo movements and administration. The Air Mobility Detachment in Prestwick will be made up of approximately 55 Canadian Armed Forces members with further augmentation based on operational tempo. When necessary, CC-177 Globemaster crews will continue to utilize the hub's resources to increase mission efficiency and flexibility. To reflect this change, the Prestwick Tactical Airlift Detachment will now be known as an Air Mobility Detachment. This name change is consistent with the increased frequency of flights and use of CC-177 air mobility aircraft. Bolstering the RCAF's operations hub will increase Canada's ability to carry out support missions throughout Europe, including the delivery of Ukraine-bound military aid. This augmentation will also increase Canada's ability to carry out missions in the Middle East and Africa on a periodic or as-required basis. As Ukraine defends itself from Russia's illegal and unjustifiable invasion, Canada will continue to provide Ukraine with comprehensive military assistance. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2022/09/defence-minister-anita-anand-announces-enhancements-to-rcaf-mobility-capabilities-to-support-ukraine-and-other-global-missions.html