Defence Minister Bill Blair initiates repeal of Duty to Report regulations

On the same subject

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  September 18, 2017 | Local, Aerospace, C4ISR

  ViaSat’s KOR-24A STT first small radio to pass testing for Canada’s ASCCM

  ViaSat has announced that its two-channel KOR-24A Small Tactical Terminal (STT) is the first small form factor, software-defined Link 16 radio to successfully pass live radio frequency (RF) range testing for the Canadian Army's Air Space Coordination Centre Modernization (ASCCM) project. http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/viasats-small-tactical-terminal-becomes-first-link-16-radio-to-successfully-pass-live-rf-testing-for-the-canadian-armys-air-space-coordination-centre-modernization-project-642731233.html

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  January 7, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Installing Canadian software on Australian F-18s first order of business when aircraft arrive, says defence official

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN One of the first things that will be done to the used Australian F-18s that Canada is purchasing is that the aircraft will be outfitted with different ejection seats and software. The first two F-18s that Canada is buying from Australia will arrive sometime in the spring and will be sent to Cold Lake, Alta, said Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for materiel at the Department of National Defence. “They land, they (the Australians) will remove their software and we'll install our software,” Finn explained in an interview. Also to be installed are ejection seats and a lighting system that is used on the CF-18s. “Ultimately the intent is the 18 aircraft are indistinguishable from our 76 aircraft,” Finn said. Canada has finalized its deal to buy the 25 used fighter jets from Australia, Eighteen of the Australian F-18 aircraft will eventually be flying while another seven will be used for testing and spare parts. The Department of National Defence still has to figure out how to get the aircraft over from Australia. “We would rather fly them over,” Finn said. “Or have them (the Australians) fly them over.” The Liberal government had originally planned to buy 18 new Super Hornet fighter jets from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing to augment the Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18s until new aircraft can be purchased in the coming years. But in 2017 Boeing complained to the U.S. Commerce Department that Canadian subsidies for Quebec-based Bombardier allowed it to sell its C-series civilian passenger aircraft in the U.S. at cut-rate prices. As a result, the Trump administration brought in a tariff of almost 300 per cent against the Bombardier aircraft sold in the U.S. In retaliation, Canada cancelled the deal to buy the 18 Super Hornets. That project would have cost more than US$5 billion. Instead of buying the new Super Hornets, the Liberals decided to acquire the used Australian jets. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says the extra jets are needed to deal with a “capability gap” as Canada does not have enough fighters to handle its commitments to NATO as well as protecting North America. But Conservative MPs say the capability gap didn't exist and was concocted by the government to delay a larger project to buy new jets, a competition that might end up selecting the F-35 stealth fighter the Liberals vowed never to purchase. In November 2018 Auditor General Michael Ferguson issued a report noting that the purchase of the extra aircraft would not fix the fundamental weaknesses with the CF-18 fleet which is the aircraft's declining combat capability and a shortage of pilots and maintenance personnel. “The Australian F/A-18s will need modifications and upgrades to allow them to fly until 2032,” the report noted. “These modifications will bring the F/A-18s to the same level as the CF-18s but will not improve the CF-18's combat capability.” https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/installing-canadian-software-on-australian-f-18s-first-order-of-business-when-aircraft-arrive-says-defence-official

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  June 29, 2018 | Local, Land

  General Dynamics debuts new LAV variants, looks toward ground-based air defence variant

  David Carl, Toronto - Jane's International Defence Review General Dynamics Land Systems Canada (GDLS-C) unveiled two new variants of its light armoured vehicle (LAV) 6.0 family during CANSEC 2018 in Ottowa from 30–31 May. The company also spoke about its LAV 6.0 Air Defence concept, and the LAV 700 currently in production for an export customer. The LAV 6.0 Reconnaissance, or ‘Recce', variant was developed from the LAV 6.0 baseline for the Canadian Army's LAV Reconnaissance Surveillance Suite Upgrade Program (LRSS-UP), a contract awarded to GDLS-C in late 2014 at a cost of CAD287 million (USD216 million) for 66 vehicles. First deliveries of the vehicles to the Canadian Army are expected in the early 2020s. In addition to sharing common features with the LAV 6.0, such as the M242 25 mm chain gun, a double-V hull, and a 450-hp Caterpillar C9 engine, the LAV 6 Recce has extensive sensors for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The detachable electro optic/infrared (EO/IR) surveillance suite, mounted on top of an extendable mast, has a radar, a day/night imager, IR imaging, and a laser pointer/laser rangefinder (LRF) all fitted to a stabilised gimble. The mast can be extended up to 5 m when on the move, or up to 10 m while stationary. The sensors on the mast feed information into the operator control station, which consists of two touchscreen displays, a keyboard, and a primary hand controller. The feed can be duplicated onto an onboard laptop, which can also control the mast while connected to the vehicle. The commander and gunner stations can access the sensor data from their own displays in their respective compartments. The vehicle also has an extended ‘silent watch' functionality, whereby it can turn off the engines and carry out its ISR functions using its onboard lithium batteries for up to eight hours. http://www.janes.com/article/81387/general-dynamics-debuts-new-lav-variants-looks-toward-ground-based-air-defence-variant