December 12, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
Canadian Army needs to spend $220 million to replace gear donated to Ukraine, says general
Canadian Army will need to spend $220 million to replace equipment donated to Ukraine but replacements could take years.
December 7, 2018 | Local, Aerospace
First nine new RCAF fighter jets to be operating in 2026 but Conservative MP has his doubts
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
The Royal Canadian Air Force will be operating the first nine aircraft from its new fleet of fighter jets starting in 2026, Department of National Defence officials say.
But at least one member of parliament questions whether the federal government will be able to meet its timetable to replace the CF-18 fighter fleet with advanced aircraft.
MPs on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts received more details on Monday about the Liberal government's plan to buy 88 new fighter jets. Aircraft expected in the competition include Lockheed Martin's F-35, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab's Gripen and the Boeing Super Hornet.
Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for materiel at the DND, told MPS that the formal request for proposals will go out in the spring of 2019. Negotiations would be held in 2021 and a contract awarded in 2022.
“We have tried to be very judicious and not have too risky a schedule to try to achieve some of that,” Finn explained to MPs. “But from the bids until the signing of the contract is where we've given ourselves two years for the competitive dialogue, the final negotiations and the various approvals we need to get, signing the contract in 2022.”
The first aircraft would be delivered in 2025. Finn said this schedule has been shared with all the potential bidders and “they're comfortable with that approach.”
Jody Thomas, the DND deputy minister, told MPs that the plan is to “achieve initial operating capability by 2026 with nine advanced fighters ready to fulfill the NORAD mission.”
But one committee member, Conservative MP Pat Kelly, was wary of whether the aircraft acquisition would proceed as scheduled.
The plan, he told Finn, doesn't leave a lot of margin for error. Everything would have to run like clockwork to meet the timetable and Kelly questioned if that would even be possible given the track record of defence procurement over the years. “We just don't have time in this for the kinds of delays and the kinds of failures of procurement that we have seen in other programs,” Kelly said. “I shudder to think of what many Canadians listening to this hearing might think about. What has the potential to go wrong to get to 2025? I'm going to leave it at that.”
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June 4, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
We are looking for suppliers with artificial intelligence capabilities !
A prime contractor is looking for suppliers with artificial intelligence capabilities. More specifically, it is looking for companies that have developed solutions that allow users to manage a large amount of information. For example, solutions that detect anomalies, enhanced learning (predictive analysis) and self-learning (probable decision tree). If you think you can meet this need, please contact: Charbel Khoury at charbel.khoury@aeromontreal.ca or Pauline Breyton at pauline.breyton@aeromontreal.ca Thank you !
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August 15, 2018 | Local, Naval
Irving misreads the National Shipbuilding Strategy: analysis
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Irving seems to be upset about Davie's ongoing efforts to win work under the National Shipbuilding Strategy. In a new deal with the federal government, Davie will refit existing icebreakers that are to be owned by the federal government. This is part of federal efforts to shore up Canada's icebreaking capability. At an event last week to announce the contract, Steven MacKinnon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Service and Procurement Canada and Member of Parliament (Gatineau, Quebec) also stated that Davie Shipyard in Levis, Quebec will have opportunities to bid and win work under the National Shipbuilding Strategy. That has sparked concern from Irving which issued on Monday a statement that it is worried MacKinnon's remarks “signal the possible redirection of shipbuilding work out of Atlantic Canada.” During the new conference MacKinnon said Davie could be in line for work under the shipbuilding strategy. “Davie had, has had, and will continue to have opportunities under the national shipbuilding strategy to bid, to win work, and the quality of the work that's done in this shipyard speaks for itself,” he said. Full Article: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/irving-misreads-the-national-shipbuilding-strategy-analysis