De Havilland to build large manufacturing campus near Calgary to meet future production needs - Skies Mag

On the same subject

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  January 28, 2019 | Local, Naval

  Storied Coast Guard ship can’t be fixed, shipyard says, highlighting yet again, Canada’s shipbuilding problem

  By David Akin A Quebec shipyard hopeful of getting more federal work has condemned a storied Coast Guard ship as beyond repair, declining to bid on a lucrative contract to overhaul the 56-year-old CCGS Hudson on the grounds that it “presents a serious and real threat to the safety of life at sea.” In a letter delivered Tuesday to officials with Public Services and Procurement Canada, Davie CEO Jared Newcombe said his company, based in Lévis, Que., would not bid on the contract to upgrade the Hudson as Davie believes the vessel to be beyond repair. A copy of that letter was provided to Global News. The federal government was trying to squeeze another few years of service out of the Hudson which, having been commissioned in 1963, is the oldest ship in the Coast Guard's fleet. Bidding on the life-extension contract, expected to be worth about $20 million, ended this week. It is the latest headache to bedevil a federal shipbuilding process that has been rife with delays. Davie's remarkable letter — procurement experts cannot recall a bidder ever recommending scrapping a major vessel when offered a chance to upgrade it — underscores the difficulties successive federal governments have had in updating an aging Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy fleet. “The Coast Guard ships are in serious need of replacement now,” said David Perry, a defence procurement expert and senior analyst at the Ottawa-based think tank, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. The average service of a Coast Guard ship is about 36 years. Canada's Maritime peers typically replace their Coast Guard vessels within 30 years of service. The Harper government announced in 2007 that the Hudson was to be replaced by 2012 and the contract to replace her was awarded to Vancouver's Seaspan shipyard. But that project is mired in delays and it is not clear when there will be a replacement. There is not yet a confirmed date for construction to start while the projected budget of $331 million to build the Hudson's replacement is under review. The Hudson did have a $4-million refit in Hamilton, Ont., in 2016, and has had more work done on it since it returned to its East Coast port in Dartmouth, N.S., in 2017. But Davie told the government that, in its view, the Hudson has now reached the end of the line. “The level of degradation to the hull, fuel tanks, onboard systems and other structural elements presents a serious and real threat to the safety of life at sea as well as the environment,” Newcombe wrote. Newcombe said his company had to consider its own liability should it have won the current life extension contract, “as well as ethical, repetitional and environmental considerations.” Full article: https://globalnews.ca/news/4884924/coast-guard-ship-cant-be-fixed-canada-shipbuilding-problem/

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  May 31, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  In pursuit of $19B contract, Sweden's Saab offers to build fleet of fighter jets in Canada

  David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen Saab's offer further ups the ante on the competition that will see the federal government purchase 88 new aircraft A Swedish aerospace firm that hopes to supply Canada's new fleet of fighter jets says it could build the aircraft in this country, making maximum use of the expertise of domestic firms and creating high-tech jobs. Saab's pitch to build its Gripen E fighter jet in Canada further ups the ante on the $19-billion competition that will see the federal government purchase 88 new aircraft. The Liberal government has been emphasizing the transfer of new technology and expertise to Canadian aerospace firms as well as the creation of high-tech jobs as among its key goals for the fighter jet program. Another European firm, Airbus, has hinted it could also build its Typhoon fighters in Canada, but Saab said if the federal government wants the planes built on a domestic production line its commitment is solid. For the Canadian program, Saab is hoping to follow the same process that helped it win a recent fighter jet competition in Brazil. The first batch of Gripen E fighter jets are being built in Sweden but the technology is then being transferred to Brazilian firms so they can assemble the remaining aircraft. Certainly if that is what the customer values for Canada that is something that we can easily do “We think that is the model that makes sense for Canada,” Patrick Palmer, senior vice-president of Saab Canada, told Postmedia. “We're going down that path but we're also looking at how the (request for proposals) is written and what the customer values. Certainly if that is what the customer values for Canada that is something that we can easily do.” Aerospace firms have been told that the federal government will request their proposals in mid-July. The fighter jet competition was launched on Dec. 12, 2017 and at this point four aircraft are to be considered. Those include the F-35, the Super Hornet, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Gripen. The Gripen E is the newest of the fighter jets being offered to Canada. The first Gripen E for the Swedish military is expected to be delivered later this year. The first of the 36 aircraft ordered by Brazil in a $5-billion program will be delivered in 2021. The first delivery of jets for the Canadian program is expected in the mid-2020s with the full capability available in the early 2030s, according to documents produced by the Department of National Defence. The issue of industrial benefits for Canadian companies will have a high profile in the competition. In early May the Canadian government told potential bidders it was making changes to its fighter jet competition to allow the U.S. to enter the F-35 stealth fighter. The changes, which industry sources say allow for a more flexible approach in determining the value of industrial benefits for the competition, came after a series of discussions with the U.S. government and threats by the Pentagon to withdraw the F-35 from consideration. Canada is a partner nation in the development of Lockheed Martin's F-35, and U.S. officials had warned that the agreement Canada had signed prohibits partners from imposing requirements for industrial benefits as firms from those nations compete for work on the jets. Over the last 12 years, Canadian firms have earned more than $1.3 billion in contracts to build F-35 parts. Per Alriksson of Saab Aeronautics said the Gripen is designed specifically for operations in the Arctic, giving it a leg up on other planes. “Sweden has air force bases in what you call the far North,” he added. “We operate there daily. (The Gripen) has Arctic DNA built into it.” Alriksson said the Gripen E can operate from remote airfields in the north, landing and taking off on runways less than 800 metres in length. It has a quick turnaround time for missions, with technicians able to reload and refuel the planes in 10 minutes. “It is pretty good in operating in dispersed locations as you have in Canada,” he added. Alriksson said the company can integrate U.S. and other equipment on the Gripen E so it is interoperable with American forces, another consideration for Canada. “Moving forward with the Gripen E, we see no problem whatsoever to integrate that fighter into a NORAD context.” https://nationalpost.com/news/in-pursuit-of-19b-contract-swedens-saab-offers-to-build-fleet-of-fighter-jets-in-canada

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  April 29, 2021 | Local, Security

  Funding to develop inclusive respirator for RCMP / Financement pour le développement d'un appareil de protection respiratoire inclusive pour la GRC

  New Funding Opportunity The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is seeking the design and production of an inclusive respiratory protection option that can be safely used by front-line police officers who have facial hair for religious, cultural, medical and/or gender identity reasons. Think you can solve the Inclusive Respirator challenge? Compete for funding to prove your feasibility and develop a solution! This challenge closes on June 9th, 2021. Apply online Nouvelle opportunité de financement La Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC) cherche à concevoir et à produire une option de protection respiratoire inclusive pouvant être utilisée en toute sécurité par les policiers de première ligne qui ont une pilosité faciale pour des raisons religieuses, culturelles, médicales et/ou d'identité de genre. Vous pensez pouvoir relever le défi du Respirateur Inclusif ? Compétitionnez afin de prouver la faisabilité de votre solution et de la développer ! Ce défi se termine le 9 juin, 2021. Postulez en ligne