August 9, 2023 | Local, Naval
Damage to HMCS Winnipeg limits warship's operations, DND confirms
Royal Canadian Navy’s frigate has sustained damage to its propellor and has structural cracks and corrosion, limiting the operation of the ship.
November 23, 2018 | Local, Naval
Failed bidder files trade challenge against Ottawa's frigate design pick
Murray Brewster · CBC News
Move comes after Alion Canada challenged frigate design pick in Federal Court
The federal government's decision to select a group of companies led by Lockheed Martin Canada to design and support the construction of the navy's new frigates is now facing a trade challenge, on top of a Federal Court challenge filed last week.
Alion Science and Technology Corp. and its subsidiary, Alion Canada, have asked the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to look into the procurement deal. They're telling the tribunal that Lockheed Martin's design will need substantial changes to meet the federal government's requirements, which would mean higher costs and more delays.
The company last week separately asked the Federal Court for a judicial review and an order quashing the decision, which saw Public Services and Procurement Canada select Lockheed Martin Canada as the preferred bidder on the $60 billion program.
Alion pitched the De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command (LCF) frigate, a Dutch-designed warship that is already in service in other countries.
More delays?
Depending upon how they play out, said defence procurement expert Dave Perry, both challenges have the potential to further delay the frigate program. Federal procurement officials had hoped to nail down a fully fledged design contract with Lockheed Martin by the winter.
Perry, who works with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said he expects those negotiations to continue — unless the Federal Court orders them to halt.
"Unless there is a compelling reason to stop, they are going to keep going," he said. "There is a recognition of the urgency across the board."
That urgency is partly due to the program's legacy of delays, which have stretched the design competition out for almost two years.
Public Services and Procurement Canada would not comment on the matter because it is before the courts, but a senior official, speaking on background Thursday, said the federal government has up to 20 days to respond to the court challenge.
The official — who was not authorized to speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the file — said there is flexibility built into the timeline and the government is optimistic it can meet its goal of an early 2019 contract signing.
Perry said there are aspects of both the court challenge and the application to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal that he finds puzzling.
Alion claimed in its court filing that the winning bid was "incapable of meeting three critical mandatory requirements" of the design tender.
Speed bump
The company said, for instance, that the Type 26 cannot meet the mandatory speed requirements set out by the navy and that both Public Services and Procurement Canada and Irving Shipbuilding, the yard overseeing the construction, should have rejected the bid outright.
Perry said the criteria cited by Alion were among the first the federal government evaluated.
"The rest of Lockheed Martin's bid wouldn't have been looked at if the Crown and Irving was not satisfied that the bid met each of those [initial] criteria," he said. "It's a weird dynamic."
Alion's trade tribunal application argues in considerable detail that in order for the Type 26 to meet Ottawa's speed requirement, it will have to undergo considerable redesign.
The court application also cites the fact that the design tender was amended 88 times and those changes "effectively diluted the [warship] requirements" and allowed the government and Irving to select "an unproven design platform."
Unlike its two competitors, the Type 26 has yet to enter service with the Royal Navy. Competitors have privately knocked it as "paper ship."
Navantia, a Spanish-based company, was the other bidder in the competition.
On the same subject
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October 29, 2021 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Le Ministère de la Défense Nationale et les Forces armées canadiennes -- Conférence de Kingston sur la sécurité internationale / The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces update -- Kingston Conference on International Security
Chers collègues et partenaires du milieu de la défense, En tant que gestionnaire par intérim du BEPS, je tenais communiquer avec vous pour partager le texte du discours d'ouverture prononcé par le chef d'état-major par intérim, le général Wayne Eyre à la Conférence de Kingston sur la sécurité internationale. Je suis conscient que certains ont probablement assisté à la conférence, mais je crois qu'une version écrite peut être une référence utile. La conférence, EN CAS D'URGENCE : Le rôle des militaires dans la pandémie et les crises futures a eu lieu cette semaine. Conférence de Kingston sur la sécurité internationale Comme toujours, nous vous remercions de votre collaboration. (Veuillez noter que le discours est bilingue et n'a pas été entièrement traduit dans l'une ou l'autre des langues officielles.) Cordialement, ***** Dear colleagues and partners in defence, As the acting manager for the Strategic Engagement Office, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the opening address given by the Acting Chief of Staff, General Wayne Eyre at the Kingston Conference on International Security. I'm conscious of the fact that many of you probably attended but a written version of the address may be interesting as a reference. The conference, IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: The Military's Role in the Pandemic & Future Crises, was held this week. Kingston Conference on International Security As always, we thank you for your collaboration.
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June 15, 2018 | Local, Naval
It's make or break time for Canadian Surface Combatant bidders
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The companies bidding on the Canadian Surface Combatant program will provide Irving Shipbuilding with their “cured” bids by July 21. Earlier this year, Postmedia reported that all three bidders in the competition failed to meet some of the federal government's requirements. The problems centre around technical issues. Some are minor but in other cases there is a view among defence industry officials that Canada is asking for too much in some areas such as radar, which may be causing problems with meeting requirements. Public Services and Procurement Canada spokeswoman Michèle LaRose earlier said the bids received for the Canadian Surface Combatant project have not been disqualified. Three bids have been received. The federal government and Irving Shipbuilding are still evaluating the proposals, she added. LaRose pointed out that the evaluation is at the second stage in the process. Government officials say that involves what is known as “the cure process” in which bidders will be given details of how their proposals have failed to meet the stated criteria. They will then be given only one opportunity to fix issues with their bids. So those fixes are to be submitted by July 21, according to industry representatives. If the bids are still considered “non-compliant” after the cure period they “will be eliminated from the competition,” according to the federal government. The budget for the Canadian Surface Combatant project is estimated by the federal government to be between $55 billion and $60 billion. That is a range but specific costs won't be known until contacts are signed and more details worked out. Fifteen warships will be built. Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for materiel at the Department of National Defence, told Defence Watch he expects a winning bid to be selected by the end of this year. http://calgaryherald.com/news/national/defence-watch/it-is-make-or-break-time-for-canadian-surface-combatant-bidders/wcm/49777bbd-d1e9-44df-88f8-603850e12ae3