Chief of the Defence Staff announces first 2023 Canadian Armed Forces General and Flag Officer senior promotions and appointments

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  October 18, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  Maxar's Radiant Solutions Awarded $92 Million Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

  Expands development of machine learning and crowdsourcing capabilities to augment global GEOINT missions HERNDON, VA, Oct. 18, 2018 /CNW/ - Radiant Solutions, a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR), today announced a $92 million contract award on a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract with the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency (NGA) to rapidly develop, prototype, and deploy machine learning and crowdsourcing capabilities to augment a wide variety of NGA missions. NGA exercised the 2019 contract option year and expanded the value over a three year period of performance. The SBIR Phase III program incents commercial firms to apply innovative solutions to pressing national security problems. As outlined in NGA's recently updated commercial GEOINT strategy, the agency is employing a variety of contracting methods to leverage commercial automation capabilities to augment conventional analysis, giving analysts more time to focus on more challenging, mission-critical problems. Through SBIR Phase III awards, the U.S. government can fund logical extensions of SBIR Data and receive a royalty-free license to that technology while protecting commercial industry's ability to make these offerings available to the global marketplace. Radiant Solutions participates in the SBIR Phase III program through its ongoing investment in Signature Analyst™, a predictive modeling engine that applies machine learning to massive amounts of geospatial data to help analysts quickly search broad geographic areas. Since 2006, Radiant Solutions and its subsidiary companies have been awarded eight SBIR Phase III contracts across multiple agencies. Radiant Solutions will advance development of machine learning capabilities, such as its DeepCore Computer Vision SDK and crowdsourcing capabilities, such as Tomnod, to help analysts quickly process large volumes of remote sensing data, understand global patterns of life and enable broad area search. The award also expands support for the NSG Open Mapping Enclave (NOME), a volunteered geographic information operational prototype that enables trusted users on multiple domains to easily create or modify foundation GEOINT to create living maps and enable timely analysis. These capabilities will be available for broad use across the U.S. Government and its global mission partners. "We are excited to expand our SBIR Phase III partnership with NGA and apply commercial innovation in machine learning and crowdsourcing to difficult national security problems," said Tony Frazier, President of Radiant Solutions. "We are fully committed to helping the NGA harness the massive potential of Commercial GEOINT to reveal insights where and when it matters to build a better world." Radiant Solutions has made several recent announcements that reveal how the company is applying Machine Learning and Crowdsourcing to Global GEOINT Missions: Maxar Technologies' Radiant Solutions Awarded Janus Geography Prime Contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Maxar Technologies' Radiant Solutions Partners with NGA to Accelerate Innovation in Machine Learning Technologies Applied to Satellite Imagery SpaceNet™ Team Earns the 2018 USGIF Industry Achievement Award The company will be showcasing a number of these capabilities at the NVIDIA GTC DC event Oct. 22-24. About Radiant Solutions Radiant Solutions provides highly specialized, innovative geospatial multisource data, analytics, software, and services to deliver critical insights and intelligence where and when it matters. Poised to transform how customers support global mapping and intelligence missions at scale, Radiant Solutions harnesses the proliferation of pervasive information-gathering sensors, open-source software, cloud computing, machine learning, and big data analytics. Our combined team of over 1,000 sensor and spacecraft engineers, geospatial analysts, developers, data scientists, and DevOps engineers delivers innovative geospatial solutions that keep our nation safe, protect critical infrastructure, and preserve scarce natural resources. Building on the legacy of MDA Information Systems, RadiantBlue, DigitalGlobe Intelligence Solutions, and HumanGeo, the newly combined Radiant Solutions has a strong track record with its advanced capabilities, open approach, and experience supporting missions that helps customers in the GEOINT community reach critical decisions faster and with greater accuracy. Radiant Solutions is based in Herndon, VA with major offices across Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Michigan, and Colorado. Radiant Solutions is a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR; TSX: MAXR). For more information visit: www.RadiantSolutions.com. About Maxar As a global leader of advanced space technology solutions, Maxar Technologies (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates) is at the nexus of the new space economy, developing and sustaining the infrastructure and delivering the information, services, systems that unlock the promise of space for commercial and government markets. As a trusted partner, Maxar Technologies provides vertically-integrated capabilities and expertise including satellites, Earth imagery, robotics, geospatial data and analytics to help customers anticipate and address their most complex mission-critical challenges with confidence. With more than 6,500 employees in over 30 global locations, the Maxar Technologies portfolio of commercial space brands includes MDA, SSL, DigitalGlobe and Radiant Solutions. Every day, billions of people rely on Maxar to communicate, share information and data, and deliver insights that Build a Better World. Maxar trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements and other information included in this release constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. Statements including words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "plan", "potential", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate" or "expect" and other words, terms and phrases of similar meaning are often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties, as well as other statements referring to or including forward-looking information included in this release. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this release. As a result, although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the risk factors and other disclosures about the Company and its business included in the Company's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with Canadian and U.S. securities regulatory authorities, which are available online under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, under the Company's EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov or on the Company's website at www.maxar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. All such forward-looking statements are based upon data available as of the date of this release or other specified date and speak only as of such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release as a result of new information or future events, except as may be required under applicable securities legislation. Investor Relations Contact Jason Gursky Maxar Technologies 1-303-684-2207 jason.gursky@maxar.com Media Contact Andre Kearns Radiant Solutions 1-703-480-6290 andre.kearns@radiantsolutions.com SOURCE Maxar Technologies Ltd. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/maxars-radiant-solutions-awarded-92-million-small-business-innovation-research-phase-iii-contract-by-the-national-geospatial-intelligence-agency-697898421.html

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  December 17, 2018 | Local, Naval

  ‘Near total power failure’: Questions about propulsion system on new Canadian warship

  David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen The Defence department has acknowledged the government's choice for a $60-billion warship program has a propulsion system that has been plagued by problems, at times shutting down entirely while at sea. But the department says it is confident the Type 26 ship, designed by the British firm BAE, meets all the requirements necessary for the Royal Canadian Navy's future fleet. The acknowledgement of the problems is contained in a Department of National Defence fact sheet that outlines potential issues with the selection of Lockheed Martin Canada, with its bid of the BAE Type 26 vessel, as the “preferred bidder” for the Canadian Surface Combatant program. That $60-billion CSC program, the largest single government purchase in Canadian history, will see the construction of 15 warships at Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax. Among the issues addressed by the DND was an outline of some potential problems with the Type 26 warship. “The British Navy has had serious issues with the propulsion system in their BAE Type 45s, both in the generator — which has caused near-total power failures — and the engines themselves,” the DND document noted. “Given it uses the same propulsion system, will this affect the CSC too?” But in the document, the DND also expressed confidence in the Type 26, adding that a design that didn't meet all the requirements would not have been considered. Until negotiations with the preferred bidder are completed, the DND can't discuss specific elements of the warship design, the department's response pointed out. Over the years, the BAE Type 45 destroyers have been plagued by problems, with the propulsion system conking out during operations and exercises. In March the British government awarded a contract to BAE worth more than $200 million to fix the problems, with the first ship to be overhauled by 2021. But a representative of the Lockheed Martin Canada-BAE team noted in an email to Postmedia that the propulsion system for the Type 26 “is fundamentally different to the Type 45 propulsion system.” “The T26 design therefore offers more propulsion options, both mechanical and electrical, and is underpinned by a greater number of propulsion engines, providing greater redundancy,” the email noted. “We are confident that the Type 26 design is the right solution for the Royal Canadian Navy and meets the requirements for the Canadian Surface Combatant.” Officials with the consortium expressed surprise at the suggestion the Type 45 issues could be linked to the Type 26 design. Negotiations with Lockheed Martin Canada on the surface combatant program have already hit a roadblock after the Canadian International Trade Tribunal ordered the Canadian government on Nov. 27 to postpone the awarding of a contract while it investigates claims the Type 26 doesn't meet the military's needs. That came after Alion, one of the firms that submitted a bid on the CSC project, filed a complaint with the trade tribunal. Alion, a U.S. firm, has also filed a legal challenge in federal court, asking for a judicial review of the decision by Irving and the Canadian government to select Lockheed Martin and the BAE design. Alion argues the Type 26 cannot meet the stated mandatory requirements, including speed, that Canada set out for the new warship and because of that should be disqualified. Alion had offered Canada the Dutch De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command frigate, which the firm says meets all of Canada's requirements. The entry of the BAE Type 26 warship in the competition was controversial. Previously the Liberal government had said only mature existing designs or designs of ships already in service with other navies would be accepted, on the grounds they could be built faster and would be less risky. Unproven designs can face challenges as problems are found once the vessel is in the water and operating. But that criteria was changed and the government and Irving accepted the BAE design, though at the time it existed only on the drawing board. Construction began on the first Type 26 frigate in the summer of 2017 for Britain's Royal Navy, but it has not yet been completed. Company claims about what the Type 26 ship can do, including how fast it can go, are based on simulations or projections. The two other bidders in the Canadian program have ships actually in service with other navies so their capabilities are known. dpugliese@postmedia.com Twitter.com/davidpugliese https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/questions-raised-about-propulsion-system-on-new-canadian-warship-amid-fears-engines-could-conk-out

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  October 16, 2023 | Local, Land

  French firms to triple 155mm ammo production, boost weapons output

  French defense firms have reportedly boosted production of self-propelled guns, artillery shells, fighter jets and anti-air missiles.