December 26, 2019 | Local, Naval
Murray Brewster
The Department of National Defence has faced some tough, pointed questions about whether it has chosen the right radar, main gun and close air defence systems for the navy's new frigates, which will soon hit the drawing board.
An unsolicited defence industry slide deck presentation, obtained by CBC News, questions each of those key components in the planned $60 billion modernization of the fleet.
It was circulated earlier this year and put in front of the senior federal officials in charge of the program.
The defence industry briefing presentation points out that the Lockheed Martin-built AN/SPY-7 radar system — an updated, more sophisticated version of an existing U.S. military system — has not been installed and certified on any warship. A land-based version of the system is being produced and fielded for the Japanese government.
The briefing calls it "an unproven radar" system that will be "costly to support," and claims it comes at a total price tag of $1 billion for all of the new ships, which the undated presentation describes as "an unnecessary expenditure."
Lockheed Martin Canada and British-based BAE Systems Inc. were chosen earlier this year by the Liberal government to design and help build 15 new warships to replace the country's existing patrol frigates — the backbone of the navy.
The briefing raises concerns about DND's choice of a main gun for the frigates — a 127 millimetre MK 45 described by the briefing as 30-year-old technology that will soon be obsolete and cannot fire precision-guided shells.
The briefing also singles out as inadequate the Sea Ceptor close air defence system, which is meant to shoot down incoming, ship-killing missiles.
Given the Canadian government's past missteps with military procurement — buying used equipment or opting for developmental systems that take years to get into service — a defence expert said the caution being expressed by the industry now is legitimate, but in some respects it's coming years too late.
"There's a risk anytime you try to do something new for the first time," said Dave Perry, an analyst who specializes in procurement at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
The navy struggled for years to get second-hand British submarines up to Canadian standards. The air force also sat on its hands while the manufacturer of the CH-148 Cyclone helicopters worked out all of the developmental bugs.
The presentation, Perry said, essentially tries to re-litigate decisions made by federal officials over three years ago, when the government's request for proposals was mapped out.
"This is calling into question whether the government set down [technical] markers in an appropriate spot or not," he said. "There is always the possibility that these issues can be revisited, but I think at this point the ship has sailed because a competition was run, it did produce a preferred bidder."
The pressure to get the new frigate design right is enormous, given the enormous expense involved and the changing nature of warfare, Perry added.
The briefing presentation apparently was circulated by a rival radar-maker which was not part of the bidding process. Federal officials declined to name the company.
Raytheon Canada Ltd. and its U.S. parent are among the biggest electronics and radar manufacturers in the world. A request for comment sent to their international business division went unanswered last week.
The concerns in the briefing were presented last summer to: Pat Finn, former head of materiel at DND; Andre Fillion, the assistant deputy minister of defence purchasing at Public Services and Procurement Canada; and Rear Admiral Casper Donovan, the navy's director general for "future ship capability."
DND confirmed the existence of the briefing presentation but refused to say who received it or which defence contractor was pushing it.
"It is not uncommon for companies to present unsolicited material to our department when they are unsuccessful in a competitive process," spokesman Andrew McKelvey said recently.
"We do not comment on these unsolicited documents as they are provided outside the scope of our established procurement process."
Both the department and the commander of the navy stand behind the decisions that were made and the systems chosen for the new frigate.
"We did our homework. We talked to other navies. We engaged our allies," said Vice-Admiral Art McDonald, who added DND was aware of other options on the market.
Delivering the warships on schedule and on budget in the mid-2020s is a constant preoccupation in the department, he said. He would not say whether the choice of radar system might mean a delay in delivery.
A senior executive at Lockheed Martin Canada said the company's radar system is identical to one selected by the U.S. government and other countries.
Much of the system's hardware, and some of its software, have been used on U.S. Aegis-type guided missile destroyers and cruisers. The difference between the radar system chosen for Canada's frigates and conventional systems is in its array: the Lockheed Martin system sweeps around and above the vessel, rather than only horizontally.
"The work that remains is to integrate it into the ship and integrate it into the ship's combat system," said Gary Fudge, general manager and vice president of Lockheed Martin Canada.
"We worked for two years with BAE during the proposal stage to optimize the ship design with this particular radar."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/frigate-gun-radar-canadian-navy-1.5405054
July 6, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
It cost at least $2.4 million to deploy a single Canadian aircraft to search for the Titanic submersible that went missing on June 18, CTVNews.ca has learned.
May 8, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
DANIEL LEBLANC The American government is once again urging Canada to acquire U.S.-built fighter jets to replace its fleet of CF-18s, one day after it emerged the Pentagon recently threatened to pull the F-35 out of the $26-billion competition for new aircraft. The contradictory messages from the U.S. government showcase how the Americans are trying to prevent a tendering process that would favour European manufacturers at the expense of either the Lockheed Martin F-35 or the Boeing Super Hornet. The Canadian government is weeks away from launching a competition for 88 new fighter jets, with the two American firms set to enter into a competition against the Swedish Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is built by a consortium that includes Airbus. In a statement on Tuesday, the American government called on Canada to make sure its fighter jets can operate alongside U.S. military aircraft around the world. The “crucial” point, according to the American government, is Canada's participation in the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) that controls the Canadian and American airspace. Only U.S.-built fighter jets currently operate in NORAD and European aircraft would face technological hurdles in gaining the ability to fully integrate into the bi-national military alliance. “We continue to believe in the importance of NATO and NORAD interoperability as a crucial component of Canada's acquisition of defence assets,” said Joseph Crook, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa. Mr. Crook added the American government remains “hopeful that U.S. firms are able to participate in open and transparent competition processes that can support Canada's NATO and NORAD obligations, especially when it comes to co-operative engagement capabilities.” On Monday, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute published letters from American officials who warned their Canadian counterparts last year that the F-35 might be pulled from the competition unless Canada's requirements for industrial benefits were modified. The American government is concerned about Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) policy, which requires the winner of the contract to invest the equivalent of the acquisition cost in Canada. Built by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 is a stealth aircraft developed by an international consortium of allied militaries under a program that specifically rejects the application of traditional industrial benefits. Canada has been a member of the program since 2006. In an interview after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he has sought to reassure the Americans by pointing out that the Canadian government will focus mostly on technical capabilities in deciding which aircraft to purchase. “First of all, the capabilities of the aircraft is the number one priority. Making sure we meet the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces – the Air Force in this particular case – is the number one priority. We will always make sure that will happen,” Mr. Sajjan said. He added that obtaining benefits for the Canadian economy is also important, while suggesting the matter will have less importance in the final weighting of the bids. “This obviously factors into the equation, but the capability requirements for the Canadian Armed Forces is always the number one priority,” he said. In a speech laying out his foreign-affairs policy on Tuesday, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he will seek to modernize the NORAD alliance if his party forms the next government, including through the purchase of fighter jets that can defend North America alongside the U.S. fleet. “I will act to select a new fighter jet through an open competition and make sure the new jets are interoperable with our American allies,” Mr. Scheer said. Vice-Admiral Mathias Winter of the U.S. Navy said in a letter last December that Canada has received US$1.3-billion in economic benefits from its participation in the F-35 program to this point. “The F-35 supplier team will submit an F-35 offer only if (1) the ITB requirement is waived entirely and (2) there is no future ITB obligation arising from selecting the F-35,” Vice-Adm. Winter said in his letter. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-us-government-urges-canada-to-acquire-american-fighter-jets-in-2/
September 23, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land
David Pugliese National Defence has installed the first pieces of equipment as monuments at the new headquarters on Carling Avenue in Ottawa. A Leopard C2 tank and the bow of the former destroyer HMCS Iroquois (see below) were installed in late March as part of the monuments project costing more than $1 million. The Royal Canadian Air Force will provide a CF-18 fighter jet for display at the headquarters. “The installation date of the CF-18 is still being determined,” Canadian Forces spokesman Maj. Scott Spurr noted in an email. Each service was allowed to select its monument as representative of its branch. The original cost of the monuments project was $400,000 but that increased as more equipment displays were added. In addition, a second monument grouping consisting of a Light Armoured Vehicle-3, a Sea King helicopter and a historical naval piece, which has yet to be determined, will be installed. Construction is expected to start on the initiative by the spring of 2021. A third monument, a First World War Nieuport aircraft, will be displayed from the ceiling over the lobby of one of the main buildings at the defence headquarters. An artillery gun, selected by the Canadian Army, will also be on display along with a Standard Missile 2 from the Royal Canadian Navy. The gun will symbolize involvement in the first Boer war 120 years ago while the missile will demonstrate technology advancements since then, according to the DND and Canadian Forces. The installation of the monuments is part of the Department of National Defence's “branding strategy” for the Carling Avenue headquarters. “The National Defence Headquarters will be a physical expression of the Defence Team; a representation of Canada's military history and the future strength of Canada's Defence Team establishment,” noted a branding document obtained by this newspaper through the Access to Information law. In 2015, the plan was to have the monuments only consist of a Leopard tank, a CF-5 fighter jet and a then unknown navy monument. The criteria was that “the monuments characterize offensive and defensive weapons capability,” according to the documents. The original budget was $400,000 but that amount has been increased as additional equipment was selected for display. The CF-5 jet was dumped in exchange for a more modern CF-18, which will be installed on a concrete pedestal. Previously the location was referred to as the “Carling Campus” but now that has been officially changed to NDHQ Carling. The branding strategy noted that the selected name is “a brand that is generic in nature but inclusive of our heritage and traditions, representing and respecting the great diversity of our work forces and its branches of service.” The federal government spent $800 million on acquiring and outfitting the former Nortel complex for the DND's needs. It has argued that it will see substantial savings from consolidating many of the department's employees into one site. The defence campus consists of about 28 hectares once owned by Nortel and 120 hectares leased from the National Capital Commission. The DND will also continue to operate its downtown Ottawa headquarters at 101 Colonel By as well as some other office locations in Ottawa and Gatineau https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/naval-and-army-monuments-installed-at-dnd-hq-but-date-for-cf-18-installation-unknown-500245/