Through the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), the Government of Canada is revitalizing the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) surface fleet of ships to ensure that members have the equipment needed to do their jobs and protect Canadians.
October 24, 2022 | Local, Land
The assembly line for howitzers was shut down years ago by the manufacturer because of a lack of orders, and it would have to be restarted.
March 14, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Canadian Forces says it is bringing in new initiatives to boost the numbers of pilots and the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk recently outlined some of those for Members of Parliament. At the Commons defence committee Feb. 28 Wynnyk pointed out the issue of pilots who are assigned to staff jobs but who want to keep flying. He suggested there could be changes that will allow that but didn't provide many details. Wynnyk did note that the call will be sent out for retired pilots to come back to the RCAF. “We're reaching out to retired individuals from the Canadian Forces and seeing if they'd like to join and particularly making it more flexible for pilots who have retired to go into the reserves to perhaps look at ways of getting into Cold Lake, Bagotville, or wherever we need to fly them,” he told MPs. Wynnyk also mentioned “potential bonuses” but didn't provide details. Late last year RCAF commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger told MPs the reasons behind the fighter pilots leaving but money appeared to be low on the list of issues forcing pilots to leave. “Certainly the feedback from those who are releasing is it's a question of family, challenges for their family,” Meinzinger explained to the Public Accounts committee. “There's a dimension of ops tempo, work-life balance, predictability in terms of geographical location, and then typically fifth or sixth are comments about financial remuneration.” “We find that, unless there's a degree of predictability and positive career management over that individual, we often find individuals who are vexed,” Meinzinger further explained. “They come up to a point where they may not have anticipated they were going to move, or we're asking them to move their family to a location where perhaps their spouse cannot find employment.” Another factor is that some fighter pilots are not happy being streamed into administrative jobs. They want to keep flying. “We find a lot of individuals often don't wish to move to headquarters and work in an office versus work in an aircraft,” the RCAF commander acknowledged. “We recognize that and respect it. But that dialogue, which must happen at the margin, before we force an individual to move, is very, very important.” The U.S. Air Force has had mixed results with its bonuses offered to stem the exodus of various pilots to commercial aviation jobs. Last year the USAF announced that, for the first time, some bomber, fixed-wing combat search-and-rescue, special operations, mobility and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance pilots would be eligible for the same maximum bonus that were previously given only to fighter pilots, Stephen Losey of Air Force Times wrote in December 2018. That maximum is $420,000 but to receive that a pilot must commit to serving 12 more years. “But turning on the cash spigot appears to have had limited effect,” Losey wrote. “According to statistics provided by the Air Force, the overall percentage of eligible manned aircraft pilots agreeing to take the bonuses — known as the take rate — increase from 44 percent in 2017 to 45 percent in 2018. That halted two years of declines, after the take rates dropped from 55 percent in 2015 to 48 percent in 2016, and to 44 percent in 2017. But even though the take rate ticked up, overall number of pilots signing up for retention bonuses dropped from 476 to 418, the statistics showed.” Losey's article is here: https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/12/10/alarming-number-of-mobility-pilots-decline-bonuses-to-keep-flying-overall-bonus-take-rates-tick-up-slightly/ https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-wants-retired-pilots-to-come-back-trying-to-make-system-flexible-to-allow-for-that
August 2, 2018 | Local, Aerospace
CAE today announced that CAE USA Mission Solutions Inc., a subsidiary of CAE USA, has acquired Alpha-Omega Change Engineering (AOCE) for approximately US$29 million, excluding post-closing adjustments. The acquisition will enhance CAE USA's core capabilities as a training systems integrator (TSI), grow CAE's position on enduring platforms such as fighter aircraft, and expand the ability for CAE USA to pursue higher-level security programs in the United States. AOCE, based in Williamsburg, Virginia, provides a range of aircrew training services, operational test and evaluation, and engineering support services to the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. intelligence services. “This acquisition aligns directly with CAE's strategic priorities to grow and expand our capabilities in the world's largest defense market,” said Marc Parent, CAE's President and Chief Executive Officer. “AOCE brings existing contracts as well as past performance in unmanned systems, aircrew training and courseware development for fighter and special operations aircraft, and space and missile defense,” said Ray Duquette, President and General Manager, CAE USA. “This will significantly enhance CAE USA's training systems integration capabilities and allow us to address broader market opportunities in the United States.” AOCE was founded in 1997, employs approximately 600 people, and has been a successful, rapidly growing business focused on providing training, engineering and consulting services. The company is currently the prime contractor on a range of programs for the U.S. Department of Defense, including: Maintenance and Aircrew Training at Kirtland/Davis-Monthan/Joint Base Andrews/Moody (KDAM) in support of the Air Force Special Operations Command Aircrew Training and Rehearsal Support (ATARS) program; U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to provide engineering and operational support services; and U.S. Air Force contract aircrew training and courseware development for F-15, F-16, and F-22 aircrews. “CAE is a recognized global leader in training and we have first-hand knowledge of the type of company CAE is through the excellent working relationship we developed on programs such as the U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft aircrew training,” said Jim Hartney, AOCE's Chairman of the Board. “This acquisition and being part of CAE will open new growth opportunities for AOCE and our employees.” CAE USA also announced it has established CAE USA Mission Solutions Inc, a subsidiary of CAE USA which operates under a Proxy Agreement with the United States government. The Proxy Agreement enables Mission Solutions to pursue and execute higher-level security programs. About CAE CAE's Defense & Security business unit focuses on helping prepare our customers to develop and maintain the highest levels of mission readiness. We are a world-class training systems integrator offering a comprehensive portfolio of training centers, training services and simulation products across the air, land, sea and public safety market segments. We serve our global defense and security customers through regional operations in the United States/Latin America; Canada; Europe/Africa; and Asia-Pacific/Middle East, all of which leverage the full breadth of CAE's capabilities, technologies and solutions. CAE is a global leader in training for the civil aviation, defense and security, and healthcare markets. Backed by a 70-year record of industry firsts, we continue to help define global training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defense force readiness and enhance patient safety. We have the broadest global presence in the industry, with over 8,500 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, we train more than 120,000 civil and defense crewmembers and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. https://www.cae.com/news-events/press-releases/cae-acquires-alpha-omega-change-engineering-aoce