DOD Innovation Ecosystem Webinar - Follow-up material

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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  June 2, 2022 | Local, Aerospace

  Leonardo awards Cormorant Trophy for joint Canada-U.S. rescue mission saving 31 lives - Skies Mag

  Leonardo has awarded the 2021 Cormorant Trophy to helicopter rescue crews from both Canada and the U.S. for the heroic F/V Atlantic Destiny rescue.

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  June 1, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

  Chief of the Defence Staff announces new Deputy Commander North American Aerospace Defense Command

  June 1, 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, has announced the second Lieutenant-General/Vice-Admiral promotion of 2023. Major-General B.F. Frawley was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General and will be appointed Deputy Commander North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, replacing Lieutenant-General A.J.P. Pelletier who will retire from the Canadian Armed Forces. NORAD is a bi-national military command responsible for aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for Canada and the United States. It is the cornerstone of Canada’s defence relationship with the United States and provides both countries with greater continental security than could be achieved individually. The NORAD Deputy Commander supports the NORAD Commander in the execution of the command’s missions. As a bi-national command, the NORAD Deputy Commander’s position is approved by both Canada and the United States. Across our nations, Canadians and Americans monitor and defend North American airspace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This is a military relationship like no other—one based on common values, friendship, and a lasting unbreakable bond. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), through its evolving promotion process, continues to choose inclusive leaders who embody its professional values and ethos. Promotion candidates complete an evidence-based character assessment followed by a “360 degree” evaluation known as a multi-rater assessment. This approach uses a diverse group of evaluators to reduce bias and foster diverse perspectives to obtain a holistic perspective of the candidate’s leadership behaviour and effectiveness. Additionally, the promotion candidate is subject to an interview conducted by a third party, external to the Department of National Defence and CAF, which focuses on personal experiences, self-awareness, past challenges, failures, and successes. Additional information regarding the promotion selection process is available here. Further promotions, appointments, and retirements will be announced when they have been confirmed. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2023/06/chief-of-the-defence-staff-announces-new-deputy-commander-north-american-aerospace-defense-command.html