Government of Canada to hold technical briefing on the Canadian Surface Combatant Project

On the same subject

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  June 10, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  One new commander — 3 changes of command

  by Bill McLeod MGen Alain Pelletier assumed command of 1 Canadian Air Division (1 CAD), Canadian NORAD Region (CANR), and the Joint Force Air Component (JFAC) from MGen Christian Drouin at a parade and ceremony held in front of the Air Division Headquarters Building in Winnipeg, Man., on May 16, 2019. The triple commands meant that the parade had three separate signing ceremonies with three lieutenant-generals in attendance. LGen Al Meinzinger, commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, presided over the change of command for 1 CAD and was also the reviewing officer for the parade. LGen Christopher Coates, deputy commander of NORAD, signed the change of command for CANR and LGen Mike Rouleau, commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command, signed the change of command for the JFAC. After the parade was formed up on the sunny but gusty morning, but before the ceremony began, a low and slow flypast in front of the seated VIP guests and dais by a pair of noisy Canada geese drew a laugh from everyone. After the review of the parade, MGen Drouin addressed the crowd at the ceremony and reflected on his experiences. “I will repeat here what I said at my change of command in 2016,” he said. “Aren't we living in a great country? I came from a modest upbringing and barely spoke any words of English. I got the opportunity to fly helicopters and they paid me to have that much fun — pretty cool. To eventually end up commanding our country's operational air force is simply incredible.” MGen Drouin went on to thank the province of Manitoba and the city of Winnipeg for their support for various programs, such as the relocation program that the province's special envoy for military affairs, Jon Reyes, has been championing. He also said that, despite growing up a “Habs fan by birth”, he was now a Jets fan. Following the signing of certificates for the three commands, LGen Rouleau related a story about his experience with the RCAF. “I took the Challenger [aircraft] here with the Air Force commander. He gave me a lift and it was awesome, and I got off the plane with my suitcase and my briefcase,” said Rouleau. “It was raining sideways. I slipped on one of the stairs and, before I knew it, I was on my behind at the bottom of the stairs and LCol Dave Snow, who was flying the Challenger, was there to grab me. It dawned on me that it was like the story of my career with the Air Force. When I was down and needed help, someone from the Air Force was there to get me out of there.” LGen Coates' remarks focused on the NORAD mission. “Our success at NORAD hinges on our inter-operability, which is especially complex because of our unique bi-national structure,” he said. “We rely on cohesive actions by our regions for mission success.” “NORAD headquarters has been taking a serious look at our ability to deter adversarial aggression in today's dynamic security climate, especially with the increase in the scale and complexity of our adversary's military activity. The close coordination that you drove with [the Alaska NORAD Region] to respond to activities in our Arctic helped NORAD stretch our resources to deliver a harmonized strategic message to our adversaries.” “This is clearly an emotional day as we bid farewell to an experienced dedicated commander within the RCAF and we welcome another,” said LGen Meinzinger. “I think it's even more poignant as it's MGen Drouin's last week in uniform and I know today is certainly more precious, poignant, and meaningful to him and his family.” LGen Meinzinger then spoke of the successes that 1 CAD experienced under MGen Drouin's leadership and congratulated MGen Pelletier on his new command role. “I know firsthand the capabilities and the outstanding qualities you bring to the post, your tremendous skill, your professionalism, your leadership, and your class,” LGen Meinzinger told MGen Pelletier. “You have commanded at all levels and I believe you are perfectly suited to move the operational Air Force forward. “You are the right leader at the right time to tackle the challenge ahead.” MGen Pelletier expressed his pleasure at being asked to take command. “I'm thrilled and honoured to be amongst you today on a traditional Winnipeg cool and windy day, to take command of the famous 1 CAD, a division that stems back to 1957, if my history is right, the operational arm of the Air Force,” he said. “It is my intent to continue advancing the yardstick well set by MGen Drouin, in the improvement of the command and control of RCAF activities in order to better support the whole spectrum of Canadian Armed Forces operations at home and abroad.” At the end of the ceremony there was a real flypast by a CH-146 Griffon helicopter — not Canada geese — from 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, followed by a reception. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/one-new-commander-3-changes-of-command/

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  April 8, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, C4ISR

  CAE answers the federal government’s call to procure ventilators

  The federal government has launched an accelerated procurement plan with several Canadian companies, including Montreal-based CAE, to procure up to 30,000 ventilators. “Canadian companies are answering the call to protect our health care professionals with made-in-Canada solutions,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement on Apr. 7. “This is exactly the kind of innovative, collaborative thinking we need to respond to this rapidly evolving pandemic.” CAE is best known in the aerospace sector for aircraft simulators and training services, helping train over 150,000 pilots per year worldwide. But for more than a decade, the company has also made a name as a healthcare training solutions provider for colleges, universities and hospitals and for medical equipment manufacturers. That includes patient simulators that respond to treatment, including intubation and ventilation. “We have the [medical] and engineering expertise in house – electrical, mechanical, software and human physiology,” said Erick Fortin, director of engineering at CAE Healthcare. A team of 12 engineers took up a challenge issued on Mar. 21 by the Montreal General Hospital Foundation and McGill University Health Centre to develop a simple and low-cost ventilator. Within 10 days, they had a working prototype built with parts from around the lab. “It worked quite well,” said Fortin. “It showed how you can put a team together with the right experts ... and what we can do.” For a company that on Apr. 6 announced the temporary laying off of 2,600 of its 10,500 employees and reduced work weeks for another 900, the opportunity “to do something” has been rewarding. “The whole company is mobilized,” he said. “We are really prepared to produce and we are productizing.” From that initial team of a dozen engineers, the project now has about 100 employees involved. And CAE expects to pull in more as they move to full production. CAE might not be the only company in the Montreal aerospace cluster seeking to solve the ventilator shortage. According to industry think tank Aero Montreal, Pratt & Whitney Canada is also exploring how to use its engineering and manufacturing capabilities to design and validate a ventilator concept that would likely “pull on local manufacturing,” including from Bombardier and AON3D. Fortin said CAE had received “hundreds and hundreds” of emails from companies interested in supplying components, from valves to flow sensors. Though all options are under consideration, including having several contingency plans at the ready, the priority would be to find Canadian suppliers who can deliver high volume. “Some parts are a bit more complex to source, like valves. We'll look at all offers, at all suppliers that can help,” he said. “We are confident that we have everything we need. We certainly have the expertise in house to do the production of thousands of ventilators.” CAE must still fine-tune the prototypes, but it intends to deliver about 10,000 units within three months once it starts production. A low-cost solution might have been part of the engineering team's initial objective, but Fortin admitted the final price might be higher than a typical commercial ventilator. “We try to build it as low as possible,” he said. “As you can imagine, as time is of the essence, cost will be a bit higher that what it could be with a bit more time.” CAE will also be leaning on its training expertise to ensure the final product comes with a complete operator training package. Since mid-March, in fact, the company has been offering online re-skilling courses for ventilators and has released a number of COVID-19 scenarios on its current products such as patient simulators. Fortin noted that more than 2,000 health professionals had participated in coronavirus-related webinars “After 25 years at CAE, I am always surprised at how nimble a big company like this can be, and how we can adjust to different situations,” he said. In its statement on Apr. 7, the government said that about 5,000 Canadian companies have offered expertise and capacity to develop and produce medical personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers and other protective gear. The government is also “working through over 22,000 submissions to Public Services and Procurement Canada from companies interested or able to sell to Canada. All efforts are being made to secure contracts and deliveries as quickly as possible.” “In mobilizing industry and creating partnerships, we are moving swiftly to build up a secure domestic supply of key personal protective equipment to protect Canada's frontline health workers as they fight this pandemic,” said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/cae-federal-governments-call-procure-ventilators/

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  January 23, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

  Parliamentary budget officer to examine Liberal government decision to buy F-35

  PBO Yves Giroux sent a letter to Defence Minister Anita Anand on Jan. 16 outlining the data he is requesting from her department.