Feds going ahead with plan to buy used jets, says Defence minister

On the same subject

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  July 18, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  Salon de Farnborough : Héroux-Devtek signe un contrat avec Boeing

  Au deuxième jour du Salon international de l'aéronautique de Farnborough au Royaume-Uni, mardi, l'industrie québécoise a été plus active, notamment gr'ce à Héroux-Devtek, qui a décroché un contrat militaire auprès de Boeing. Présente au plus important rendez-vous du secteur cette année, l'entreprise de Longueuil a indiqué mardi avoir été retenue par le géant américain pour la fabrication du train d'atterrissage principal des avions de chasse Super Hornet F18 et du EA-18G Growler. La valeur de l'entente n'a pas été précisée, mais Héroux-Devtek sera également responsable de la fabrication de pièces de rechange destinées aux nouveaux appareils ainsi qu'aux quelque 700 avions F18 de la flotte de l'armée américaine. « Nous sommes ravis d'avoir été choisis, a indiqué le président et chef de la direction de la société québécoise, Gilles Labbé. Ceci confirme nos liens de plus en plus étroits avec Boeing et représente une avancée importante pour nos activités du secteur de la défense. » Les premières livraisons doivent débuter à compter du troisième trimestre de 2020. Héroux-Devtek fait déjà affaire avec Boeing dans le cadre d'un important contrat pour la fabrication des trains d'atterrissage des avions de ligne 777 et 777X – en plus d'être responsable de la fabrication de pièces de rechange – ainsi que ceux de l'hélicoptère militaire Chinook. L'analyste Benoît Poirier, de Desjardins Marchés des capitaux, a souligné que cette nouvelle entente démontrait que Héroux-Devtek était capable d'élargir ses liens d'affaires avec le géant américain. « L'annonce confirme également, selon nous, que Boeing demeure engagée à l'égard du Canada en dépit de la récente dispute commerciale entre l'entreprise et Bombardier [à propos de la C Series] », a-t-il écrit dans une note. Derek Spronck, de RBC Marchés des capitaux, a pour sa part estimé que ce nouveau contrat venait ouvrir la porte à une croissance significative des revenus de la société d'ici 2020. À la Bourse de Toronto, le titre de Héroux-Devtek a bondi en début de séance, se rapprochant temporairement de son sommet annuel de 16,75 $. Le titre a finalement terminé la séance à 15,40 $, en hausse de 10 cents, ou 0,65 %, par rapport à son cours de clôture de lundi. D'autres annonces effectuées par la délégation québécoise présente à Farnborough : La société française spécialisée dans les services techniques et industriels Groupe NSE et Drakkar, un fournisseur canadien de services d'impartition, vont créer plus de 100 emplois à Montréal sur 3 ans dans le cadre de la mise sur pied d'une entreprise de services techniques et logistiques. Le gouvernement Couillard prêtera 11,5 millions de dollars sans intérêt à Esterline CMC Électronique, qui modernisera son usine montréalaise au coût de 24,4 millions de dollars, notamment afin de consolider 93 emplois. Safran Systèmes d'atterrissage Canada, qui fait partie du groupe industriel français Safran, reçoit une aide de deux millions de dollars de Québec afin de moderniser son usine de Mirabel. Ce projet est évalué à 11,8 millions de dollars. Aéro Montréal et Aerospace Wales Forum, la grappe aérospatiale du Pays de Galles, ont convenu d'un rapprochement afin de simplifier l'accès aux entreprises québécoises et galloises aux maîtres d'œuvre et à leurs chaînes d'approvisionnement. Le Consortium de recherche et d'innovation en aérospatiale au Québec, le Consortium en aérospatiale pour la recherche et l'innovation au Canada et le Hamburg's Center of Applied Aeronautical Research ont signé une entente de coopération entourant la recherche collaborative. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1113261/boeing-avions-chasse-hornet-f18-train-atterissage-industrie-quebec-royaume-uni

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  October 21, 2018 | Local, Naval

  Lockheed Martin selected as preferred designer for Canada's next generation of warships

  Murray Brewster · CBC News A group of companies led by multinational defence giant Lockheed Martin has been selected as the preferred designer for Canada's next generation of warships, the Liberal government said Friday. The announcement that the group's BAE Type 26 design won the design competition represents a significant step forward for the long-anticipated $60-billion program to replace the navy's aging fleet of frigates. "The Canadian Surface Combatant project is the largest, most complex procurement ever undertaken by the Government of Canada. These ships will form the backbone of our Royal Canadian Navy and will be Canada's major surface component of maritime combat power for decades to come," Public Services and Procurement Canada said in a press release. Procurement and defence officials say this is not the final step; they will now enter into negotiations with the winning bidder to confirm it can deliver everything promised in the complex proposal. (Some observers have compared the process to placing a conditional offer on a home.) The evaluation, which will take place over the winter, involves verifying the winning company's financial wherewithal to complete the project, confirming that the proposal meets the military's combat requirements and hammering down aspects of intellectual property licences. Cindy Tessier, head of communications for Lockheed Martin Canada, said today the company is "confident that our proposed solution meets the requirements established, offering the best ship for Canada, with the world's most advanced warship design ... "Our proposal is a true industry team effort, and we look forward to providing any additional information to the Government of Canada and Irving Shipbuilding. We are ready on Day 1." The federal government now says it expects to award the final design contract sometime over the winter. It could be 2023 before construction actually gets underway at the go-to yard for warships — Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax. But finally pulling the trigger on a designer is a "huge step," Dave Perry, an Ottawa-based procurement specialist at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said in an interview with CBC's Power & Politics. "There's a huge degree of interest in having this done by the spring, and certainly before the next election." Perry said the importance of this order should not be underestimated, as the new ships will provide the navy with the bulk of its ocean-going fleet — vessels that can be used in war, to protect trade routes or to deliver humanitarian aid. "They can basically do anything the government wants them to do," he said. Perry said the $60-billion contract to build the frigates will be a major boon for the Halifax shipyard in particular. "When the economic impact starts spinning, it's really going to be meaningful," he said. André Fillion, the assistant deputy minister of defence and marine procurement at Public Services and Procurement Canada, said if the federal government is not satisfied that the top bidder can deliver, it will open negotiations with the second-place team of companies. Alion Science and Technology, along with its subsidiary Alion Canada, had submitted their proposal based on the Dutch De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command (LCF) frigate. Navantia, a Spanish-based company, headed a team that included Saab and CEA Technologies. Its proposal was based on the F-105 frigate design, a ship in service with the Spanish navy. "The former naval officer in me is very excited," said Pat Finn, a retired rear admiral who heads up the Department of National Defence's material branch. "I've been around this for a long time." Fillion would not say which aspect of the "due diligence assessment" will be the toughest to overcome. Prior to asking for ship design bids, federal procurement officials spent a lot of time dealing with issues related to intellectual property on the complex systems that will be put into the new warships. Obtaining the necessary clearances is essential in order for the federal government to be able to maintain the vessels in the future. Failure to do so could cost taxpayers untold tens of millions of dollars — perhaps hundreds of millions — over the five decades the ships are expected to be in service. Some design changes are expected after the federal government selects an official winner and a contract is in place. How many changes will be required is a critical question; Finn would only say he doesn't anticipate cutting steel on the new warships for up to four years. That fuzzy timeline means the program is already months behind schedule. The design competition was launched almost two years ago, when the Liberal government said selecting a foreign, off-the-shelf design would be cheaper and faster than building a warship from scratch. Finn acknowledged there will be a production gap at the Irving yard in Halifax of about 18 months between construction of the navy's Arctic offshore patrol ships and the frigate replacements. He added, however, that the federal government is looking at a variety of options to keep the yard humming, including refit work on the existing frigates and possibly building an additional patrol ship, or ships. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lockheed-martin-selected-as-preferred-designer-for-canada-s-next-generation-of-warships-1.4869268

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  April 29, 2021 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Federal budget 2021: defence and security - Open Canada

  The world is changing. Trudeau stays the course.