August 2, 2018 | Local, Aerospace
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
July 6, 2021 | Local, Aerospace, Security
A plan to modernize the Canadian military's search and rescue helicopters is on hold after the proposal received from the aircraft's manufacturer was deemed to'¦
June 28, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
May 31, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
Bluedrop Performance Learning and its subsidiary Bluedrop Training & Simulation will deliver another hoist mission training system (HMTS) to the Royal Canadian Air Force 19 Wing Comox in addition to a similar CH-148 Cyclone simulator delivered to 12 Wing Shearwater in July 2018. The immersive virtual reality simulator will replicate the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and be used for search and rescue (SAR) hoist procedure and mission training. The HMTS will improve hoisting skills in challenging mission scenarios, allowing trainees to practice critical skills in a safe, true-to-life environment. The simulator provides high-fidelity cable behaviour that responds to flight dynamics and operator inputs with accurate turbulent flow zone rendering and complex rescue coordination scenarios. “Our HMTS is proving to be the standard for rear-crew training. We are so happy to be contributing to search and rescue operations training in Canada. Canadian SAR capabilities are a national asset and priority. Bluedrop values being able to improve operational readiness and mission effectiveness through improved training of these skilled operators in some of the harshest rescue environments,” said Jean-Claude Siew, vice-president of Technology and Simulation. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/bluedrop-to-deliver-hoist-mission-training-system-to-the-royal-canadian-air-force/