Exclusive: Canada could make it harder for U.S. to win fighter bid - sources

On the same subject

• 

  May 31, 2019 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Supporting jobs and skills through defence purchases

  Defence procurements support skills development for Canadians May 29, 2019 – Ottawa, Ontario The Government of Canada's defence and major Coast Guard purchases result in billions of dollars of work for Canadian companies and support thousands of jobs annually. Going forward, they will also contribute to the development of a highly skilled and diverse workforce. The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, underscored this today while at CANSEC, Canada's largest defence and security trade show, where he helped unveil the new Canadian Industrial Leadership Award (CILA). A joint initiative from L3 Technologies, Thales Canada and CAE Inc., CILA will offer fully paid internships/co-ops to 10 female students with demonstrated leadership and academic skills. The students will work on innovative projects to support their education and receive mentorship in STEM disciplines. The companies created this program as a result of the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy, which requires winning bidders of defence contracts to invest the value of the contract back into the Canadian economy. Minister Bains also announced updates to the Policy that will promote the development of new skills. Specifically, prime contractors will now receive additional credit through the ITB Policy for investments in skills development and training for Indigenous peoples in Canada. A new cyber certification feature was also added to improve access for Canadian small and medium-sized firms seeking opportunities related to defence procurement. This will help advance the Government's commitment to setting and promoting a national standard for cyber protection among Canadian businesses. The addition follows the publication of the 10 principles that make up Canada's new Digital Charter, one of which states that Canadians should be able to rely on the integrity, authenticity and security of the services they use and should feel safe online. Quotes “In a competitive global economy, Canada can't afford to leave talent on the sidelines. Through the ITB Policy, the government is helping to ensure the development of a more skilled and inclusive workforce. The Canadian Industrial Leadership Award is a great example of how our policy can promote investment in the advancement of women in STEM. Going forward, the enhancements to the policy that were announced today will also motivate new investments in skills development and training for Indigenous peoples. It will also lead to improved access to cyber certification for small and medium-sized businesses, allowing them to better compete in this innovative industry.” – The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Quick facts The ITB Policy encourages companies to establish or grow their presence in Canada, strengthen Canadian supply chains, and develop Canadian industrial capabilities in areas such as innovation, research and development, supplier development, and exports. The ITB Policy includes the Value Proposition, which motivates bidders on Canadian defence contracts to put forward proposed investments toward their ITB obligations when making their bids. As of January 2019, the overall portfolio of ITB obligations included 161 projects valued at almost $47 billion, with $36.1 billion in business activities already completed, $7.1 billion of activities in progress and $3.7 billion in unidentified future work opportunities. The Canadian defence industry includes over 660 firms with more than $10 billion in sales, supports close to 60,000 jobs in the Canadian economy, and employs highly skilled workers in high-quality jobs. https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2019/05/supporting-jobs-and-skills-through-defence-purchases.html

• 

  January 4, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Deal to buy used Australian fighter jets finalized, with Canadian Forces set to be flying them by summer

  David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen Eighteen of the Australian F-18 aircraft will eventually be flying for the Canadian Forces, while another seven will be used for testing and spare parts Canada has finalized a deal to buy 25 used fighter jets from Australia, the first of which are expected to be operating by this summer, says the top procurement official at the Department of National Defence. “The first two aircraft will be here this spring,” Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for materiel at DND, told Postmedia in an interview. “I would say it could be by the summer the first couple are on the flight line and painted with the maple leaf.” A second group of planes would arrive later this year. Eighteen of the Australian F-18 aircraft will eventually be flying for the Canadian Forces, while another seven will be used for testing and spare parts. Canada is paying Australia $90 million for the aircraft. The federal government originally estimated the purchase of the Australian jets would cost around $500 million, but Finn said that price reflected every aspect of the associated deal, not just the cost of purchasing the jets. Canada is also acquiring extra spare parts, the Australian jets will have to be outfitted with specific Canadian equipment and software and testing will be needed. The $500-million project estimate also included $50 million in contingency funds to cover any problems and another $35 million for the salaries of all civilian and military personnel involved over the life of the project. An additional $30 million will be spent on new infrastructure needed to accommodate the aircraft. Those costs add up to $360 million, Finn said. But DND also plans to upgrade its existing fleet of CF-18s with new communications gear and equipment required to meet regulations to operate in civilian airspace, improvements which the Australian jets will also eventually receive at a cost of around $110 million, an amount that brought the original estimate to nearly $500 million. The Liberal government had 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 administration of U.S. President Donald Trump enacted 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, which 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 has said 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 doesn'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 that during the 2015 election campaign the Liberals vowed never to purchase. In the fall of 2016, then-Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Mike Hood told senators that the Liberal government brought in a policy change which required the RCAF to be able to meet both its NATO and North American air defence commitments at the same time. That, in turn, created the capability gap, he said. Hood said he was not told about the reasons for the policy change. 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 said. “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.” “In our opinion, purchasing interim aircraft does not bring National Defence closer to consistently meeting the new operational requirement introduced in 2016,” Ferguson's report added. The Canadian Forces says it is bringing in new initiatives to boost the numbers of pilots and maintenance staff. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/deal-to-buy-used-australian-fighter-jets-finalized-with-canadian-forces-set-to-be-flying-them-by-summer

• 

  April 24, 2023 | Local, Other Defence

  Canada's defence spending hasn't made it a NATO pariah — but that could change, ex-diplomat warns | CBC News

  Canada's apparent unwillingness (or inability) to meet NATO's defence spending target has not yet dented the country's reputation among its allies, says one of the country's top former diplomats.