Liberals award Boeing and U.S. government sole-source deal worth $8 billion for new military surveillance aircraft fleet

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  June 4, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  We are looking for suppliers with artificial intelligence capabilities !

  A prime contractor is looking for suppliers with artificial intelligence capabilities. More specifically, it is looking for companies that have developed solutions that allow users to manage a large amount of information. For example, solutions that detect anomalies, enhanced learning (predictive analysis) and self-learning (probable decision tree). If you think you can meet this need, please contact: Charbel Khoury at charbel.khoury@aeromontreal.ca or Pauline Breyton at pauline.breyton@aeromontreal.ca Thank you !

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  May 31, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Boeing surprised Canada changed rules of jet competition to allow Lockheed Martin bid

  David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Boeing Co is surprised Canada softened the rules of a competition for new fighters to allow Lockheed Martin Corp to submit a bid, but is still confident it has a chance, a top executive said on Wednesday. Following a U.S. complaint, Ottawa this month said it planned to drop a clause stipulating that bidders in the multibillion dollar race to supply 88 jets must offer a legally binding guarantee to give Canadian businesses 100% of the value of the deal in economic benefits. The original clause would have excluded Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter, the plane the Canadian air force wants. The contract is worth between C$15 billion and C$19 billion ($11.1 billion to $14.1 billion). “I was surprised by the recommended change ... why would you deviate from a policy that's been so successful to accommodate a competitor?” said Jim Barnes, the Boeing official in charge of trying to sell the company's F-18 Super Hornet jet to Canada. The change in the rules around economic benefits was the latest wrinkle in a decade-long troubled-plagued effort to replace Canada's CF-18 jets, some of which are 40 years old. The final list of requirements for the new fleet of jets is due to be issued in July. “Right now we feel like we can put a very compelling offer on the table even with this change,” Barnes told reporters on the margins of a defense and security conference in Ottawa. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains - in overall charge of the benefits aspect of procurement - said in response to Barnes's comment that Ottawa would ensure the competition was fair. Compelling bidders to offer watertight guarantees of economic benefits contradicts rules of the consortium that developed the F-35, a group to which Canada belongs. Boeing is offering a binding commitment and Barnes said the firm would stress to Canadian officials the potential economic disadvantages of entertaining a non-binding bid. An official from Sweden's Saab AB, another contender, told reporters that Canadians could lose out by ignoring contenders that had made firm investment commitments. “I am concerned that the ability to respond to a non-binding environment may not necessarily give Canadians the best value at the end of the day,” said Patrick Palmer, head of sales and marketing for Saab Canada. Airbus SE, the fourth firm in the race, declined to comment. Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Susan Thomas https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-fighterjets/boeing-surprised-canada-changed-rules-of-jet-competition-to-allow-lockheed-martin-bid-idUSKCN1SZ2AA

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  March 1, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Budget officer says used Australian fighter jets will cost Canada over $1 billion — far more than DND claimed

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The purchase of used Australian jets to boost Canada's current fleet of fighter planes could cost taxpayers more than $1 billion, a figure 22-per-cent higher than the Department of National Defence is claiming, according to a new report from parliament's financial watchdog. Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux examined the cost of buying and upgrading 18 used Australian F-18s and flying them to 2032. His report, released Wednesday, puts the final price tag at between $1.09 billion and $1.15 billion — considerably more than the $895.5 million estimate from DND. “We considered the entire life-cycle cost, from project management up until the very end of the disposal phase,” Giroux said in an interview with Postmedia. “We didn't look at whether it was a good deal.” The PBO's costing included weapons, upgrades needed for the aircraft, annual maintenance fees and the fuel that would be needed over the years of flying the aircraft. We didn't look at whether it was a good deal The Royal Canadian Air Force is using the jets as interim fighters to boost the capability of the current fleet of CF-18s until the purchase of a new generation of aircraft. The RCAF will fly 18 of the Australian jets and use the other seven for parts and testing. The RCAF received its first two used Australian fighter jets at 4 Wing Cold Lake in Alta. on Feb. 16. Deliveries of the jets will continue at regular intervals for the next three years, and the aircraft will be integrated into the CF-18 fleet as modifications are completed, according to the RCAF. The last aircraft are expected to arrive by the end of 2021 and fly until 2032. Giroux said his office used the same figures that DND had but did its own analysis of those cost estimates. “There's no fundamental reason why we should come up with a different number,” he said. “My only sense is that they voluntary budgeted optimistic numbers. The reason why I don't know for sure.” In a statement Wednesday, DND said its cost figures are close to those determined by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The statement also added that the PBO figures for upgrades of the interim fighter fleet include estimates for CF-18 combat upgrades which the department is still trying to determine. “While we are confident that our methodology is sound, we will continue to work with the PBO, the Auditor General of Canada, and other outside entities as part of our commitment to responsible use of taxpayer dollars,” the statement noted. The Liberal government had planned to buy 18 new Super Hornet fighter jets from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing to augment the Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18s until new modern aircraft could be purchased in the coming years. But in 2017 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 administration of U.S. President Donald Trump enacted 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 18 Super Hornets, which would have cost more than US $5 billion. Instead of buying the new Super Hornets, the Liberals decided to acquire the used Australian jets. In November 2018 the Auditor General's office issued a report noting that the purchase of the extra aircraft would not fix the fundamental weaknesses with the CF-18 fleet which is the aircraft's declining combat capability and a shortage of pilots and maintenance personnel. “The Australian F/A-18s will need modifications and upgrades to allow them to fly until 2032,” the report said. “These modifications will bring the F/A-18s to the same level as the CF-18s but will not improve the CF-18's combat capability.” “In our opinion, purchasing interim aircraft does not bring National Defence closer to consistently meeting the new operational requirement introduced in 2016,” the report added. The Canadian Forces says it is bringing in new initiatives to boost the numbers of pilots and maintenance staff. https://montrealgazette.com/news/canada/budget-officer-says-used-australian-fighter-jets-will-cost-canada-over-1-billion-far-more-than-dnd-claimed/