July 7, 2023 | Local, Other Defence
Innovative Solutions Canada, an initiative designed to stimulate technology research, development, and commercialization of Canadian innovations, has recently launched a quantum testing stream.
Pre-commercial innovative prototypes in quantum sensing, communications, and computing will be tested in real-life settings and address a variety of priorities within the Government of Canada.
For more information, visit the Innovative Solutions Canada web site.
September 10, 2023 | Local, Land
Thirty years ago this week, Canadian soldiers on a peacekeeping mission fought a pitched battle against Croatian forces near the town of Medak in the former Yugoslavia. Today, military members marked the anniversary of the Battle of Medak Pocket with a low-key ceremony at the national peacekeeping memorial in Ottawa.
November 28, 2017 | Local, Naval
ANDREA GUNN OTTAWA BUREAU Days before the bid submission deadline for the Canadian Surface Combatant request for proposals, Lockheed Martin Canada has announced it has teamed up with the UK-based BAE Systems to submit a proposal for Canada's new fleet of warships. The combined request for proposals is for an off-the-shelf ship design and combat systems integrator, and experts say the Lockheed Canada and BAE duo will be a powerhouse contender. For the ship design, BAE Systems is offering its Type 26 Global Combat Ship — long rumoured to be a favourite of Royal Canadian Navy officials and arguably the newest and most advanced vessel of its kind in the world — and the only possible contender that has yet to actually be built. The Royal Navy is building eight of their own Type 26 vessels. For the combat systems, which is best described as the brain and nervous systems of the ship's intelligence and combat operations, Lockheed Canada is offering its Canadian-designed CMS 330. This is a newer version of the combat management system Lockheed designed for the Royal Canadian Navy's original Halifax-class ships and is present on Canada's modernized frigates. Both firms were identified among bidders prequalified to participate in the process, alongside other international industry giants like ThyssenKrupp, Navantia and DCNS. Also part of the consortium participating in the Lockheed/BAE bid are CAE, L3 Technologies, MDA and Dartmouth-based marine tech firm Ultra Electronics. Speaking with The Chronicle Herald on Monday, Gary Fudge, VP of Canadian naval systems programs with Lockheed, said an independent study completed by Lockheed Canada revealed the Type 26 as the best design in the running, and prompted their interest in teaming with BAE for preliminary work several years before Canada announced that it would be combining the ship design and combat systems integrator into a single bid. He said BAE's modern design and modern toolsets — for example their use of advanced digital blueprints that will make it easier to modify and modernize the design in the future — made the Type 26 the key contender for them. “Given that Irving has just built the most modern shipyard, we wanted the designer to have toolsets and data that can migrate easily into Irving's toolsets,” said Fudge. Irving is the prime contractor for the combat portion of the government's National Shipbuilding Strategy and will build a fleet of 15 Canadian Surface Combatants (CSCs) at its Halifax shipyard, with a budget of $56billion to $60 billion, starting in the 2020s. It will also have a say, alongside the federal government, in selecting the winning bidder. Rosemary Chapdelaine, vice president and general manager with Lockheed Martin Canada Rotary and Mission Systems, on Monday touted job creation in Canada, including Nova Scotia, as a key component to their bid. For example, Lockheed Canada's combat systems and integration technology is built at a facility in Ottawa and tested at the the company's Maritime Advanced Testing and Training Site in Dartmouth. Chapdelaine said Lockheed Canada's approach to the bid is to be seen as the Canadian team, even if it takes points from other parts of their bid. “We want to provide the Canadian content, do the direct work in Canada using Canadian industry,” she said. David Perry, a senior analyst with Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said Lockheed Canada's long history with the Royal Canadian Navy via the Halifax-class frigates and the advantages of the Type 26 over other potential designs puts the consortium in a good spot in the competition. “An advantage of the Type 26 would be that where the requirements for it overlap with CSC, the technology would be very new, without modifying the design at all. The other ships in the competition would be older technology, so they'd need to modify it to introduce more current technology,” he said. But that doesn't make it a shoo-in — in an RFP with thousands of different parts, Perry said the winning design will have to tick a lot of boxes. Speed and accommodations for example, while adequate in the Type 26, Perry said are not necessarily the cream of the crop compared to other options out there. Retired navy commander and defence analyst Ken Hansen agreed that Lockheed Canada's extensive experience working with the Canadian Navy, as well as their edge on Canadian content, gives them an advantage over some parts of the competition. But, he said, while extremely advanced technology, the Type 26 might not be the ship Canada needs due to its high price and extreme complexity. “The (Type 26) is inordinately complex and it had a lot of teething pains — the ship has been described in the U.K. press as overpriced and a technical nightmare,” he said. “I have not gotten that warm feeling where the reassurances from the British design authorities say ‘Oh it's solved and we're back on track.'” It is not known how many groups will submit bids for the CSC competition. At least one other has gone public — Alion Canada announced its bid with Dutch De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command frigate as its design last week. The federal government says it expects to be able to select a winning bidder at the earliest in the spring of 2018, dependent on the number and quality of bids it receives. http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1524306-lockheed-martin-bae-submit-warship-bid http://canadascombatshipteam.com/
June 10, 2020 | Local, Land
June 5, 2020 - Army's Land Vehicle Crew Training System (LVCTS) project. Rheinmetall Canada will take the lead in a partnership that includes Lockheed Martin Canada, Rheinmetall Electronics of Bremen, Germany, and Lockheed Martin Training and Logistics Solutions in Orlando, Florida. In cooperation with its partners, Rheinmetall Canada will offer the Canadian Army a solution for the LVCTS project that is mature, modular, and cost effective, while ensuring high-value economic benefits to Canada. The LVCTS solution will enable the Canadian Army to conduct progressive training at the individual, crew, platoon, and higher echelon levels using high- to medium-fidelity reconfigurable trainers, as well as standard trainee workstations combined with a robust virtual environment and a comprehensive instructional system. The software will be common to all levels of training and designed to generate increasingly challenging situations, including the ability to realistically simulate various terrain types, weather conditions, capabilities, and tactics. The instructional system will score crews to a doctrinal standard at all levels of complexity. Individual Crew Training Systems (CTSs) will be linked through the Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) protocol and High-Level Architecture (HLA) gateways to provide section, platoon, or higher echelon training. The system will also include a learning management system that allows for customization of training scenarios, monitoring of trainee progress, and after-action review. As Pietro Mazzei, Vice-president, Rheinmetall Canada, notes, “This partnership combines two of the world's leading providers of military training solutions in order to supply the Canadian Army with the most advanced modular system. Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin have strong global track records when it comes to supplying and supporting leading-edge systems for precision gunnery and crew task training. We look forward to bringing this expertise to the Canadian Army.” “Lockheed Martin Canada is proud to partner with Rheinmetall on an LVCTS solution for the Canadian Army”, says Lorraine Ben, Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin Canada. “Building on 80 years of support to the Canadian Armed Forces, we look forward to leveraging our team's skills and experience, including in world-class simulation and training systems. This partnership connects industry-leading technology with Canadian expertise for a critical land training capability in Canada for decades to come.” Lockheed Martin Training and Logistics Solutions is a leading provider of Army training solutions worldwide including the world's two largest virtual collective training systems—the U.S. Army's Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT) and the UK Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (UK CATT). About Rheinmetall Canada Rheinmetall Canada is the Canadian arm of Germany's Rheinmetall Group, Europe's largest supplier of systems and equipment for armed forces and security services. With employees at locations in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Québec and Ottawa in Ontario, Rheinmetall Canada has accumulated over three decades of expertise in system integration, real-time command and control software development, and communication solutions. Serving as prime contractor, Rheinmetall Canada has also managed several major Canadian Army programs such as the Leopard 2 repair and overhaul, medium range radar, integrated soldier system, and satellite communications on the move. About Lockheed Martin Canada Headquartered in Ottawa, Lockheed Martin Canada is the Canadian unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, a global security and aerospace company that employs some 110 000 people worldwide. Lockheed Martin Canada has been Canada's trusted defence partner for 80 years, specializing in the development, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The company has around 1000 employees at major facilities in Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Calgary, and Victoria, working on a wide range of major programs spanning the aerospace, defence, and commercial sectors. About Rheinmetall Electronics Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH supplies mission systems and simulation solutions to military, governmental, and commercial customers. Its simulation and training solutions range from fundamental e-learning and basic part-task training all the way up to fully network-enabled training systems or complex training centres to ensure excellent performance of soldiers, airmen, and sailors in their future missions. Rheinmetall Electronics has delivered customized solutions to global customers including the Mechanized Training Centre in Thun, Switzerland, and the Leopard 2 Gunnery Skills Trainer and Driving Simulator in Canada and Indonesia. Its portfolio encompasses reconnaissance, fire control, soldier, and command systems, guided weapon platforms, as well as training, learning, and engineering applications for individuals, teams, and entire customer organizations. Customers in more than 40 countries rely on technology from Rheinmetall Electronics. 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