Government of Canada invests in the modernization of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CH-146 Griffon

On the same subject

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  February 4, 2019 | Local, Naval

  Trade tribunal rejects rival's bid to block warship contract

  Murray Brewster · CBC News The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has dismissed a complaint by one of the companies that was competing for the job of designing and helping to build the navy's next generation of warships. Alion Science and Technology Corp. and its subsidiary, Alion Canada, filed the complaint in November and asked that the signing of the contract with the preferred bidder be postponed until the matter could be heard. The trade tribunal, in a decision rendered late Thursday, said the company did not "have standing to file a complaint" before the agency. Last fall, the Liberal government announced plans to award the design contract to a group of companies led by Lockheed Martin Canada and opened negotiations with the intention of completing a full contract this winter. Alion, Lockheed Martin Canada and the Spanish company Navantia were all in the running for the Canadian Surface Combatant project, which will be built at Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax. The federal government issued a statement Friday and indicated progress towards a final contract was ongoing. "Public Services and Procurement Canada is pleased with the CITT's ruling," said department spokesman Pierre-Alain Bujold. "We have full confidence in our process, and continue to work toward awarding a contract for the design and design team for the future Canadian Surface Combatants." Alion had pitched its De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command (LCF) frigate, a Dutch-designed warship, for the Canadian competition and has pointed out that the warship is already in service in other countries. The company had asked the CITT to investigate the procurement deal, saying the preferred warship design — the British-built Type 26 — would need substantial changes and and further claimed it doesn't meet the navy's requirements as outlined in the government tender. Alion also had filed a Federal Court challenge of the project last fall. The design competition went on for almost two years as Public Services officials and executives at Irving worked with bidders to ensure a fair competition and to avoid post-decision court fights. The first of the new warships, intended to replace the navy's frigates, are not expected to be in the water until the mid-2020s, at the earliest. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trade-tribunal-warship-alion-1.5002298

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  October 31, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  Ottawa changes requirements for new fighter jets to help European firms to qualify

  DANIEL LEBLANC Canada has modified the mandatory specifications for its next fleet of fighter jets to make it easier for European manufacturers to qualify for the $26-billion contract and foster more competition among five qualified bidders, federal officials said. Under the previous Conservative government, the requirements for the fighter jets could be met only by the Lockheed-Martin F-35 fighter jet, a stealth aircraft developed by an international coalition of countries including the United States, Britain and Canada. To allow for a competition, the current Liberal government asked National Defence to revise the requirements to allow more companies to qualify for the contract. In a briefing this week, federal officials said the government will give bidders additional leeway to meet the requirements, including those related to Canada's obligations with the United States as part of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). In particular, the requirements for secure communications between Canadian and American aircraft and other military assets were modified to give all potential bidders additional time to meet them. The changes are especially useful to European bidders (Dassault Aviation of France, Sweden's SAAB Aeronautics and British-based Airbus Defence), given that U.S.-based Lockheed-Martin and Boeing already play key roles in the U.S. military. “We obviously have NATO and NORAD commitments, with NORAD probably being the bigger one, which means we have significant security requirements that are Canada-U.S.,” said Pat Finn, the assistant deputy minister in charge of procurement at National Defence. When federal officials will analyze the various bids, he said, they will not automatically disqualify an aircraft that is unable to immediately meet the security requirements. “We can't have an aircraft that doesn't meet it, but what we've done is we've created the test in a different way ... If your proposal, your aircraft, cannot meet [a requirement] today, we are not saying automatically that you're out; but you have to tell us what is your solution to meet it, at what price and what schedule,” he said on Monday. The federal government said on Monday it was giving six weeks to interested bidders to provide comment on the draft request for proposals (RFP), which lays out all federal requirements for the fighter jets. The formal RFP is scheduled to be released in May, which will mark the launch of the official competition. One expert said American companies still have an advantage over their European rivals. “Whatever aircraft we obtain has to be fully, seamlessly interoperable at the highest levels with the American Air Force and the rest of the U.S. defence establishment, which is going to be tougher for Europeans to do than it would be for the Americans,” said Dave Perry, vice-president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “There's way to do that, but it would also imply additional cost and integration risk." Mr. Perry added he is puzzled by the federal government's assertion that Canada can remain a member of the F-35 development program, while insisting that Lockheed-Martin abide by the federal policy that calls on the winner of the competition to provide regional benefits equal to the full value of the contract. “The most economically efficient way to buy the [F-35] Joint Strike Fighter is to do so as a member of the partnership,” he said. “However, as a condition of being a member, you have to say that you won't apply offsets. I don't really know how the government is squaring those circles at all.” Conservative MP Rob Nicholson said the acquisition process for the new aircraft remains confusing more than three years after the Liberal took office. “The bottom line should be what is best for our Air Force and get on with it,” he said. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-changes-requirements-for-new-fighter-jets-to-help-european/

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

  Le Ministère de la Défense Nationale et les Forces armées canadiennes -- Conférence de Kingston sur la sécurité internationale / The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces update -- Kingston Conference on International Security

  Chers collègues et partenaires du milieu de la défense, En tant que gestionnaire par intérim du BEPS, je tenais communiquer avec vous pour partager le texte du discours d'ouverture prononcé par le chef d'état-major par intérim, le général Wayne Eyre à la Conférence de Kingston sur la sécurité internationale. Je suis conscient que certains ont probablement assisté à la conférence, mais je crois qu'une version écrite peut être une référence utile. La conférence, EN CAS D'URGENCE : Le rôle des militaires dans la pandémie et les crises futures a eu lieu cette semaine. Conférence de Kingston sur la sécurité internationale Comme toujours, nous vous remercions de votre collaboration. (Veuillez noter que le discours est bilingue et n'a pas été entièrement traduit dans l'une ou l'autre des langues officielles.) Cordialement, ***** Dear colleagues and partners in defence, As the acting manager for the Strategic Engagement Office, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the opening address given by the Acting Chief of Staff, General Wayne Eyre at the Kingston Conference on International Security. I'm conscious of the fact that many of you probably attended but a written version of the address may be interesting as a reference. The conference, IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: The Military's Role in the Pandemic & Future Crises, was held this week. Kingston Conference on International Security As always, we thank you for your collaboration.