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On the same subject

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  May 13, 2022 | Local, Aerospace, Land

  Canada taking ‘comprehensive look’ at joining U.S. ballistic missile defense

  Anita Anand: “We are leaving no stone unturned in this major review of continental defense.”

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  October 18, 2018 | Local, Naval

  Feds aiming to select preferred design for $60B warships by end of month

  OTTAWA — Canada's most expensive military project is entering a critical new phase as the government is on the verge of picking its top design for the country's $60-billion fleet of new warships. Defence insiders say the government wants to select a design by the end of the month from among three options submitted by several of the largest defence and shipbuilding companies in the world. After that the government and Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding, which will actually build the 15 new warships, will sit down with the selected bidder to hammer out the final cost and other details. The stakes will be high for both sides, with hundreds of millions of dollars in play. There will also be pressure to make up for lost time on a project already running behind schedule even though whatever decisions are taken could have ramifications on the navy — and taxpayers — for decades to come. "That's part of the tension between moving quickly and making the right choice," said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. The new warships will replace the navy's 12 frigates and three destroyers, the latter of which have already been retired. They will be used for most of this century. Launched in late 2016, the design competition has been the subject of rampant lobbying and complaints by defence industry players, with numerous revisions to the original request for bids and several deadline extensions. That was despite defence officials and Irving having previously warned that time is of the essence when it comes to starting construction, and that they want to shave 18 to 24 months off the project. There have also been questions about Irving's role in the competition, and anger from some companies that British firm BAE was allowed to enter its Type 26 vessel despite the ship having never been built. BAE and U.S.-based defence giant Lockheed Martin partnered together to propose the Type 26 for the design competition, which is up against separate proposals from Dutch firm Alion and Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. A joint French-Italian design was disqualified because Paris-based Naval Group and Italian firm Fincantieri, who promised to build the warships faster and for less than anyone else, did not follow the established process for submitting proposals. One of the big questions heading into the negotiations will be how much the selected design needs to be changed to reflect the navy's needs and how much the navy will have to shift its requirements because changing the design will take more time and money. Irving has warned that it could be forced to lay off hundreds of employees because of a production gap if work on the warships isn't ready to start by the time it finishes building the navy's new Arctic patrol ships in 2021 or 2022. Government negotiators are also facing a battle over the amount of intellectual property that the top bidder will be required to hand over, which Ottawa wants so it can operate and maintain the vessels on its own after they are built. Companies had originally been told that the winner would be required to turn over the full blueprints, but after significant resistance, the two sides agreed that the matter would be negotiated before a contract is awarded. The government however warned that if the winning ship designer drives too hard a bargain on the intellectual property front they face the risk of officials pulling the plug on talks and moving on to the next company. Perry said that while there are many challenges ahead before a deal for a design is signed — and before any of the new warships actually get into the water — this is a critical step forward. "You can't dance until you pick a dance partner," he said. — Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter. Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/feds-aiming-to-select-preferred-design-for-60b-warships-by-end-of-month-250594/

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  September 24, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  U.S. approves Canada's purchase of used Australia fighter jets - deal to be completed by end of year

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The sign-off from the Americans for the 25-jet purchase was needed because the aircraft were built in the U.S. with U.S. technology. The U.S. government has approved Canada's purchase of used F-18 fighter jets from Australia, paving the way for the deal to be completed by the end of the year. The sign-off from the Americans was needed because the aircraft were built in the U.S. with U.S. technology. Dan Le Bouthillier of the Department of National Defence said Friday negotiations with Australia over the sale of the 25 used fighter jets is on-going. “Should all negotiations and approvals move forward as planned, aircraft would start arriving in Canada in 2019, and the project remains on track to achieve this milestone,” he said. “The delivery plan, including mode of delivery, will be finalized once negotiations are complete and the aircraft being purchased are selected.” In June, Postmedia reported that Canada had boosted the number of used Australian fighter jets it is purchasing to 25 from 18 but that the deal still hinged on approval from the U.S. government. Although U.S.-Canada relations have hit a slump, with President Donald Trump vowing to punish Canadians because of ongoing trade disputes, DND officials hope the situation won't affect approvals for the fighter jet sale to proceed. The Liberal government originally announced it would buy 18 used Australian F-18 jets to augment the Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18s until new aircraft can be purchased in the coming years. But it has added seven more used Australian F-18 aircraft to the deal. Those extra aircraft will be stripped down for parts or used for testing. The exact cost of purchasing the 25 aircraft, along with weapons and other equipment, is not yet known, Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough pointed out earlier this year. The Liberal government has set aside up to $500 million for the project. Earlier this year, Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence's assistant deputy minister of materiel, said the government has received what's called a letter of cost proposal on the impending sale. “The Australians have now gone to the U.S. State Department for the transfer under ITAR,” Finn explained to MPs on the Commons defence committee at the time. Finn indicated the DND wants to have the deal in place by the end of this year. “The idea of firming this up in the fall of 2018 was for the start of delivery of the two first aircraft to be next summer, and then quickly beyond it,” he added. The federal government has confirmed the Australian aircraft will be operating alongside the RCAF's other CF-18s at Bagotville, Que., and Cold Lake, Alta. “The aircraft will be employed at 3 Wing Bagotville and 4 Wing Cold Lake,” a government official noted. “DND is currently reviewing infrastructure requirements to accommodate the additional aircraft. Any modifications are expected to be minimal as the supplemental jets are of similar age and design to the CF-18.” The Liberal government had planned to buy 18 new Super Hornet fighter jets from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing. But last year Boeing complained to the U.S. Commerce Department that Canadian subsidies for Quebec-based Bombardier allowed it to sell its C-series civilian passenger aircraft in the U.S. at cut-rate prices. As a result, the Trump administration brought in a tariff of almost 300 per cent against the Bombardier aircraft sold in the U.S. In retaliation, Canada cancelled the deal to buy the Super Hornets. That project would have cost more than US$5 billion. https://theprovince.com/news/politics/u-s-approves-canadas-purchase-of-used-australia-fighter-jets-deal-to-be-completed-by-end-of-year/wcm/f39380f7-98e9-45a2-8a7b-525c3eda6901