Fires and rollovers plague Canadian Army's $600 million fleet of new armoured vehicles

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  August 6, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

  F-35: Lockheed Martin promet des retombées de 16,9 milliards $ au Canada d’ici 2058

  PAUL-ROBERT RAYMOND Le Soleil Le Canada est un partenaire de premier plan dans le programme de l'avion de chasse F-35 depuis les débuts de celui-ci, il y a plus de 20 ans. Celui-ci apporterait des retombées économiques se chiffrant à 16,9 milliards $ jusqu'en 2058 et maintiendrait entre 1675 et 2525 emplois annuellement au pays dans des secteurs de pointe. C'est le message qu'a voulu livrer l'avionneur Lockheed Martin jeudi matin. Lors d'une conférence sur Zoom, Lockheed Martin a signifié que le programme de fabrication de l'avion F-35 implique en ce moment 110 entreprises canadiennes dans 200 projets industriels. Les contrats accordés à celles-ci représentent 2 milliards $ en occasions d'affaires et font travailler 150 000 personnes durant la réalisation du programme. L'avionneur a procédé à cet exercice de relations publiques presque une semaine après avoir officialisé son intention de participer au processus de remplacement de la flotte de chasseurs du Canada. Rappelons que Boeing, avec son Super Hornet Block III (la version la plus moderne du F-18), et Saab, avec son JAS 39 Gripen, sont dans les rangs dans cet appel d'offres visant à acquérir 88 avions de chasse pour l'Aviation royale canadienne (ARC). Les retombées économiques ne seront pas uniquement générées par la construction de ces 88 avions, «mais pour l'ensemble des plus de 3000 avions qui seront commandés dans le monde», assure Steve Callaghan, vice-président à la stratégie et au développement des affaires chez Lockheed Martin. Sachant qu'un autre concurrent pourrait être choisi, il a voulu se faire rassurant. «Si le Canada ne choisit pas le F-35, nous honorerons les contrats avec les entreprises canadiennes jusqu'à leur échéance», a-t-il dit. «Même si le programme du F-35 est mondial, l'industrie canadienne est complètement intégrée dans celui-ci. Nous croyons qu'elle continuera à y contribuer même si le choix de l'ARC est autre que celui du F-35.» Par ailleurs, M. Callaghan assure que les délais encourus en raison de la pandémie de COVID-19 n'affecteraient pas les livraisons des avions pour les Forces armées canadiennes. «Nous commencerons comme prévu la production de vos avions en 2025», a-t-il dit. D'ici la fin de l'année 2020, Lockheed Martin prévoit livrer 141 appareils aux huit forces aériennes qui ont commencé à l'utiliser. Parmi les entreprises canadiennes qui participent au programme F-35, au Québec, il y a Héroux-Devtek, basée à Laval. Plusieurs autres entreprises sont localisées, dans les provinces maritimes, au Manitoba, en Colombie-Britannique, et en Ontario, notamment. https://www.lesoleil.com/affaires/f-35-lockheed-martin-promet-des-retombees-de-169-milliards--au-canada-dici-2058-da3dae8df5db9ac1dd4ef7e7e2944e87

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  March 5, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Budget Officer’s analysis of used Australian F-18 deal to be released Thursday

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Parliamentary Budget Officer will release his report Thursday on the federal government's purchase of used Australian F-18 fighter jets for the Canadian Forces. Yves Giroux's report will be a fiscal analysis of the government's acquisition of the 25 aircraft. 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. The Royal Canadian Air Force are using the jets as interim fighters to boost the capability of the current fleet of CF-18s until a new generation aircraft can be bought. The Royal Canadian Air Force recently received its first two used Australian fighter jets at 4 Wing Cold Lake in Alberta. The first two aircraft were F/A-18A models, which means they are single seat aircraft. The aircraft were flown to Cold Lake, Alberta, from Nellis, Nevada, where they were participating in Exercise RED FLAG. The aircraft will be employed at 3 Wing Bagotville and 4 Wing Cold Lake, according to the RCAF. Deliveries of the Australian jets will continue at regular intervals for the next three years, and aircraft will be integrated into the CF-18 fleet as modifications are completed, according to the RCAF. The final aircraft are expected to arrive by the end of 2021. A second group of planes are expected to arrive later this year. 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 the Department of National Defence's procurement chief, Pat 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 over the years 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. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/budget-officers-analysis-of-used-australian-f-18-deal-to-be-released-thursday

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  June 3, 2019 | Local, Naval

  No icebreakers in federal government’s $15.7B plan for new coast-guard ships

  By Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The Canadian Coast Guard's recent struggles resupplying northern communities and rescuing ice-jammed ferries appear set to continue despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to spend $15.7 billion on "a complete fleet renewal." That's because none of the 18 vessels the government announced last week that it plans to buy will be an icebreaker, meaning the coast guard will be forced to continue relying on its existing icebreaker fleet for the foreseeable future. Many of those are nearing — or have already exceeded — their expected lifespans, which has resulted in breakdowns and other problems that have affected coast-guard operations, such as resupply runs and assisting ferries in winter. Federal procurement minister Carla Qualtrough acknowledged on the sidelines of the annual Cansec arms-trade show this week "there's definitely a capability gap on icebreakers," but wouldn't say when it would be addressed. Qualtrough instead indicated that any announcement on more ships for the coast guard would likely come after the government adds a third shipyard to the two that are already partners in the federal shipbuilding plan. "There's definitely more ships coming," she said on Thursday. "It will really be dependent on how long it takes the third yard to get itself ready to build the kind of ships we need." The search is expected to start in the coming weeks, but while many observers expect Davie Shipbuilding in Quebec City to emerge victorious, a senior government official maintained a decision is unlikely before October's election. The government's planned $15.7-billion investment unveiled last week includes two Arctic patrol ships to be built by Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax and 16 so-called multipurpose vessels from Seaspan Shipbuilding in Vancouver. But those vessels are what officials describe as "ice-capable," rather than icebreakers, meaning the coast guard will need to continue to rely on its existing fleet for many of its operations. The icebreaker fleet did receive a boost on Thursday, when the Canadian Coast Guard officially welcomed the CCGS Molly Kool to its ranks after several months of conversion work at Davie. The CCGS Molly Kool is the first of three second-hand icebreakers that Davie has sold to the government, which the coast guard has said it plans to use for the next 15 to 20 years to fill any gaps until replacements are built. But while the government is spending millions to refit its current icebreakers, which are on average 35 years old, and keep them running as long as possible, the question remains when those replacements will arrive. The only new icebreaker currently in the government's multibillion-dollar shipbuilding plan is the polar-class CCGS John G. Diefenbaker, which was expected in 2017 before various delays pushed it back to the next decade. "We haven't built a coast guard-designed icebreaker since 1983. That was the last time," said Rob Huebert, an expert on the coast guard at the University of Calgary. "And anything we have bought is usually second-hand from industry." The coast guard doesn't have clout in Ottawa, Huebert said, which has translated into a lack of long-term planning or investment by successive governments — except when there are political points to be scored. And while the addition of a third yard to the federal shipbuilding plan should mean icebreakers will follow soon after, Huebert said it is all ad hoc and will simply lead to the same problems down the road. "I get incensed by the fact that we do not have any form of a long-term coast-guard renewal for icebreakers." Documents obtained by The Canadian Press warned more than a third of the coast guard's 26 large vessels, including its icebreakers, had exceeded their expected lifespans — and that many wouldn't survive until replacements arrived. The fleet's advanced age was also already affecting the coast guard's ability to do its job, including reduced search-and-rescue coverage, ferry-service disruptions and cancelled resupply runs to Arctic and coastal communities. —Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2019/05/31/no-icebreakers-in-federal-governments-15-6b-plan-for-new-coast-guard-ships/#.XPFqzBZKiUl