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August 2, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

Federal auditor general to dive into contentious fighter-jet 'capability gap'

Study will also look at how Canada will meet its 'obligations as it transitions to a new fighter fleet'

Lee Berthiaume

Canada's auditor general has started to dig into one of the Trudeau government's most contentious claims, upon which rests the fate of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars: that the country is facing an urgent shortage of fighter jets.

The claim was first made in November 2016 when the Liberals announced that Canada didn't have enough fighter jets to defend North America and simultaneously meet the country's NATO commitments, and that a stopgap was urgently needed until the entire CF-18 fleet could be replaced.

The government originally planned to buy 18 interim Super Hornets from Boeing for $6.4 billion before the deal was scuttled late last year in favour of buying 25 used jets from Australia for $500 million.

But critics, including opposition parties and former air force commanders, accuse the government of fabricating an urgent "capability gap" — as the shortfall is known — by changing the military's requirements to avoid having to buy the F-35 stealth fighter.

Auditor general Michael Ferguson is now scrutinizing this "capability gap" as part of an overall fighter-jet review, according to an internal memo written by officials at the federal procurement department and obtained by The Canadian Press through access to information legislation.

The memo to Public Services and Procurement Canada deputy minister Marie Lemay references a meeting with Ferguson's staff in December in which they laid out the objectives of their audit.

Full article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/auditor-general-fighter-jets-1.4763444

On the same subject

  • Canada's WWII-era pistols dangerously unreliable — but the quest to find a replacement drags on

    December 10, 2018 | Local, Land

    Canada's WWII-era pistols dangerously unreliable — but the quest to find a replacement drags on

    Tristin Hopper The Canadian Army brought 20 pistols to an Arkansas shooting competition. Before events had even officially kicked off, 15 of those pistols had jammed so badly during the warmup they couldn't be used. “It was so bad, the guys coming off (the range) were handing over their (remaining five) pistols to the next team because they couldn't trust the others,” said Ken Pole, who wrote about the incident for a feature in Canadian Army Today. On average, Pole found that the Canadians' handguns has jammed once every 62 shots. Their British competitors, by contrast, squeezed off 5,620 rounds without a hitch. This is all pretty standard for the Browning Hi-Power, the 74-year-old pistol still carried as the primary sidearm of the Canadian Armed Forces. Unlike most pistols carried by G7 militaries, Brownings have a tendency to rattle and soldiers have been advised not to fully load the pistol because it will wear out the springs. When a Canadian soldier is deployed to a war zone such as Afghanistan or Mali, they're issued with whatever Browning Hi-Power is deemed to be least likely to give out. That's why some have joked that if they're ever forced to use their sidearm in combat, they'd be better off throwing it than shooting it. “If you give me a choice of a sharp stick or a Browning, I'll ... sadly take the Browning but will look fondly at the stick,” Bob Kinch, a former competitive marksman with the Canadian Armed Forces, wrote in a September Quora post. Like many times when the Canadian military tries to buy something, however, the quest to replace the Browning is now held up in a years-long procurement limbo. A 2016 statement by the Department of National Defence estimated that soldiers wouldn't be able to get their hands on new pistols until at least 2026. Canada's Hi-Powers are so desperately obsolete, however, that the army has been forced to greenlight a stopgap program to buy up some working pistols in the meantime. Known as the “Army Interim Pistol Program,” it will buy about 7,000 sidearms to immediate plug what the army is calling its “current pistol capability gaps.” Full article: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadas-wwii-era-pistols-dangerously-unreliable-but-the-quest-to-find-a-replacement-drags-on

  • AÉRO MONTRÉAL EST À LA RECHERCHE D'UN(E) COORDONNATEUR(TRICE) DE PROJETS, DÉFENSE ET SÉCURITÉ EN AÉROSPATIALE (SDQuébec)
  • DND looking at acquiring drones to replace those damaged in crashes earlier this year

    August 6, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

    DND looking at acquiring drones to replace those damaged in crashes earlier this year

    DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Department of National Defence is looking at buying two more drones to replace those damaged in crashes earlier this year. Two of the Blackjack uninhabited aerial vehicles were damaged beyond economical repair on Jan. 31 and March 21. The damage occurred during training flights, one of which involved a collision with the recovery system. In late June there were articles in the U.S. defence press about Boeing subsidiary Insitu receiving new contracts for RQ-21A Blackjack small unhabituated aerial vehicles from the U.S. government and other countries including Canada. But the DND says the claims about Canada proceeding with a purchase are premature. Canada announced in 2016 that it was acquiring small uninhabited aerial system or SUAS (RQ-21A Blackjack) from the U.S. through a Foreign Military Sale. The federal government bought one complete system so far. That package includes four aircraft with one spare, which was delivered to the 4th Artillery Regiment (General Support) in CFB Gagetown. With the crashes earlier this work is underway at the DND on whether to proceed with replacing those aircraft. “We are assessing the possibility of making use of the provisions in this contract to purchase replacement aircraft, as two units were damaged beyond economical repair earlier this year,” explained DND spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande. Flight safety investigations are ongoing in order to determine cause and assess preventative measures, she added. Discussions are ongoing with the U.S. so costs and a timeline for replacements is not yet known. “We are also exploring the possibility of purchasing a second system, though internal discussions are still ongoing and no final decision has yet been made,” Lamirande said. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/dnd-looking-at-acquiring-drones-to-replace-those-damaged-in-crashes-earlier-this-year

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