Lockheed Martin Canada and L3 MAS Join Forces to Pursue the Royal Canadian Air Force Future Aircrew Training Project

On the same subject

• 

  September 9, 2019 | Local, C4ISR

  Norad asked Canada to 'identify and mitigate' cyber threats to critical civilian sites

  by Murray Brewster The U.S.-led North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) asked the Canadian military to do an inventory of its bases and the surrounding civilian infrastructure, looking for critical systems vulnerable to a cyberattack. The letter to Canada's chief of the defence staff, written by then-Norad commander U.S. Admiral William Gourtney just over three years ago, was obtained by CBC News under access to information legislation. Despite the passage of time, two leading cyber experts said the request highlights an enduring concern of both defence planners and people in high-tech industries. The notion that a cyberattack could shut down civilian infrastructure — such as power grids, water treatment plants or traffic systems — in the vicinity of a military base is nothing new. What is unusual is that Norad sought reassurance, at the highest levels of the military, that Canada was on top of the evolving threat. The Norad commander asked Gen. Jonathan Vance to "identify and mitigate" Infrastructure Control Systems (ICS) vulnerabilities on Canadian military bases, particularly at "installations that are critical for accomplishing Norad missions." The March 24, 2016 letter also urged Canada's top military commander to "advocate developing capabilities to respond to cyber incidents on CAF [infrastructure control systems] and defend CAF [infrastructure control systems] if required." Gourtney's concern was not limited to defence installations; he asked Vance to "work with Public Safety Canada to identify civilian infrastructure that is critical to CAF and Norad missions. This includes developing processes for reporting cyber incidents on the identified civilian infrastructure." Vance responded to Gourtney (who has since retired and was replaced by U.S. Air Force Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy) three months later and directed the military to hunt for vulnerabilities. "I share Norad's concerns for the cybersecurity" of critical defence infrastructure, Vance wrote on June 10, 2016, in a letter obtained by CBC News under access to information legislation. He noted that the Canadian government has identified "adversaries" that pose "a significant threat and efforts have been made to identify and develop protective strategies for Canadian critical infrastructure." The Liberal government — through its defence strategy and overhaul of security legislation — tackled some of the concerns raised by Norad. It gave the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) and the military new powers to conduct offensive cyber operations. Perhaps more importantly, it set up the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security for civilian infrastructure, which — according to CSE — aims to "be a place where private and public sectors work side-by-side to solve Canada's most complex cyber issues." David Masson, a cyber expert, said minimizing the vulnerability of civilian, privately operated infrastructure continues to be an extraordinarily complex task. The major vulnerability is in what's known as operational technology systems, the kind of computer-driven tasks in utilities and other infrastructure that open and close valves or perform remote functions. The task of securing them is made extraordinary difficult in part by the wide variety of operating systems out there. "There's lots of them," said Masson, the director of technology at Darktrace, a leading cybersecurity company. "Look at it as 50, 60, 70 different bespoke communications systems. There's no real standardization because they're so old. Many of them were never expected to be connected to the internet." He pointed to the 2015 and 2016 cyberattacks on Ukraine's power grid, which in one instance cut electricity to 225,000 people, as examples of what's possible when hackers go after operational technology systems. It is also the kind of event that Norad is concerned about. "The kinds of equipment and machinery that supports the transport of natural gas or the provision of air conditioned services, or our water supply — all of those are critical to Canadians and our militaries," Lt.-Gen.Christopher Coates, the Canadian deputy commander, said in a recent interview with CBC News. He said Norad is focused on the capabilities that are essential to doing its job of defending North America against attack, and they try to "minimize those vulnerabilities where we can." There is, Coates said, an interesting discussion taking place at many levels of the military about what constitutes critical infrastructure. "You asked if we're satisfied. I get paid to be concerned about the defences and security of our nations. I don't think I should ever be satisfied," he added. 'Inauthentic activity' in Alberta election a possible preview of tactics in the federal campaign, report warns Privacy commissioner launches investigation into licence plate breach With ransomware on the rise, RCMP urging victims to 'be patient with police' Christian Leuprecht, a defence expert at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., said defining critical infrastructure is a complex and evolving task. He pointed to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election; prior to that event, he said, the definition of critical infrastructure was limited to power plants, electricity grids and even the financial system. "A lot of things people are wrestling with the question of what institutions — take, for example, democratic institutions — become critical infrastructure," said Leuprecht. The Ukrainian attacks, in the view of many defence experts, are a blueprint of what the opening shots of a future war would look like. "There's a considerable and growing awareness that our defence and critical infrastructure systems are closely tied together because countries, such as China, preserve cyberattack as a first-strike option," Leuprecht said. Masson said there are ways to limit the vulnerability of operational technology systems. Not connecting them to the internet would be a start, but many companies are choosing not to do that for efficiency reasons. He said they also can be protected with "robust" security systems. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/norad-cyber-civilian-1.5273917

• 

  February 12, 2020 | Local, Naval

  Canada's submarine fleet spent 'zero days' at sea last year: government documents

  All four of Canada's submarines were tied up last year for repairs and maintenance — news that has the opposition Conservatives questioning whether the Liberal government can keep the second-hand fleet afloat for another two decades. In response to a written question before Parliament, the Department of National Defence said the boats "spent zero days at sea" in 2019, but three of the four would return to service at some point this year. Over the year, HMCS Victoria, HMCS Windsor, HMCS Chicoutimi and HMCS Corner Brook were in various stages of repair and maintenance. They also went into drydock for long-term upgrades meant to ensure the submarines remain operational until the end of the next decade. The Liberal government's 2017 defence policy does not envision replacing the subs until 2040, but a written statement recently put before the House of Commons indicates the navy wants to keep the boats "operationally effective until the mid-2030s." Conservative defence critic James Bezan said the acquisition of new submarines is not something Canada can put off for 20 years — and the Department of National Defence and the Liberal government should begin seriously looking for replacements. 'Do they have a plan?' "The boats are getting older and need to be replaced sooner, but I'm not sure that's resonating with the minister's office or the [Prime Minister's Office]," Bezan said. "You have to ask yourself the questions. Do they have a plan to replace the submarines? And do they even care that we have submarines?" The boats were docked last year after an intense sailing schedule for two of the four submarines over 2017 and 2018. HMCS Chicoutimi spent 197 days at sea helping to monitor sanctions enforcement off North Korea and visiting Japan as part of a wider engagement in the western Pacific. HMCS Windsor spent 115 days in the water during the same time period, mostly participating in NATO operations in the Atlantic. Bezan said he is not questioning Canada's need for submarines, pointing out that the navy has three coastlines to monitor, countries such as China and India are investing heavily to build up their own fleets and Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic has surpassed Cold War levels. "The best way to fight a submarine is with a submarine," said Bezan. "There is a growing need for submarines to ensure our sovereignty around North America. It is also the best way to patrol our Arctic waters." Frigates first The Liberal government has just started the process of replacing the country's patrol frigates — the backbone of the navy — through an estimated $60 billion program that will roll out over the next two decades. Following the release of the federal government's new defence policy in June 2017, a senior government official, speaking on background, cited the cost and complexity of rebuilding the surface fleet as justification for postponing the purchase of new submarines. The commander of the navy, Vice-Admiral Art McDonald, said that after some early struggles, the submarine program has reached what he described as "a steady state," and he's convinced the boats can be operated safely for years to come. "We know there's still excellent life in the Victoria-class submarine. I've seen that personally," McDonald told CBC News in a recent interview. "We'll be able to operate those boats into the 2030s, but to do that we'll have to continue with the routine investments we've made in them." Submarines are not cheap. Defence department figures tabled before Parliament show the navy has invested upward of $325 million in submarine maintenance, repairs and upkeep each year for the last two years. The bulk of the cash went to repairing HMCS Corner Brook, which has been undergoing an extended upgrade since 2015 following an accident four years earlier when it smashed into the bottom of the ocean off British Columbia. The boat is one of the three Canadian subs expected to be back in the water this year for "contractor trials" meant to confirm the repairs. The Chrétien government bought the submarines second-hand from Britain in 1998 at a cost of $750 million. Since then, National Defence has pumped billions into repairing and converting them for Canadian use. The program suffered a major setback in 2004 when HMCS Chicoutimi caught fire on its maiden voyage, killing one sailor. Almost a decade ago, navy planners started making a case for a replacement program. They told the former chief of the defence staff, the now-retired general Walt Natynczyk, that the military needed bigger, quieter submarines that could perform stealth missions, launch undersea robots and fire guided missiles at shore targets. The briefing was obtained in 2012 by The Canadian Press under access to information legislation. A year later, the commander of the navy at the time, the now-retired vice-admiral Paul Maddison, told a Senate committee the navy meant to operate the boats until at least 2030. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/submarines-canada-fleet-repairs-canadian-navy-1.5458632

• 

  November 7, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  CAE signs four major Eurpoean training deals

  Written by Wings Staff The international expansion of CAE continues with four major training agreements announced in Madrid, Spain, during the 2018 European Airline Training Symposium at the 2018 European Airline Training Symposium. This includes deals with CityJet, easyJet, Polish Airlines and Vueling Airlines. easyJet deal The agreement with easyJet is the largest new contract of the four, valued at more than $170 million over the next 10 years. Under the agreement, all of easyJet's pilots will train at CAE, which will expand its training network to provide the airline with three new European pilot training locations, equipped with a fleet of CAE's latest XR Series flight simulators. CAE will provide easyJet with state-of-the-art pilot training solutions at training centres located in London-Gatwick and Manchester in the UK, as well as Milan, Italy. During easyJet's fiscal year 2018, ending September 30, 2018, the airline has recruited 460 pilots, which is a pilot recruitment record for the airline as it continues to expand across Europe. In the last year alone easyJet has added bases to its network in Berlin Tegel and Bordeaux and now flies more than 1,000 routes on over 300 Airbus A320 family aircraft. In July 2018 easyJet took delivery of the first of 30 A321neo aircraft. As part of the contract, CAE will build a new training centre in London-Gatwick with a dedicated space to serve easyJet's training needs. It will deploy nine Airbus A320-family full-flight simulators (FFSs) and three flight training devices (FTDs) in the new London-Gatwick centre. The agreement also includes two additional training locations in Manchester, UK, and Milan, Italy. The centres will be ready for training starting in the second half of 2019. “This represents one of the biggest deals of its kind in Europe in the last five years and we are pleased to be working with CAE as a trusted and highly innovative training provider to help ensure easyJet is a centre of excellence for crew training,” said Chris Browne, easyJet's chief operating officer. The agreement will see easyJet become the launch customer for new CAE 600XR FTDs, featuring the Tropos 6000XR collimated visual system and a fully enclosed instructor area. easyJet will also utilize the CAE 7000XR Series full-flight simulator with features like CAE XR simulation fidelity and instructor interface, CAE XR lesson and flight-plan upload capabilities. CAE has been delivering pilot training solutions to easyJet pilots since 2004. In 2010, easyJet selected CAE as its launch partner for a cadet Pilot Programme based on the Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL). To date, CAE has selected, assessed, trained and delivered more than 900 co-pilots and captains through the easyJet MPL Integrated ATPL and type-rating training programs for the airline. LOT Polish Airlines deal CAE also reached an exclusive two-year pilot training agreement with LOT Polish Airlines (LOT), flag carrier of Poland, on various Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer aircraft platforms. The airline's pilots began training earlier this fall at multiple CAE training locations in Europe, including CAE Amsterdam, CAE Madrid, CAE London Gatwick and CAE Stockholm. “This agreement helps us invest in the future growth of LOT and helps us attract new pilots on the global competitive aviation market,” said Maciej Wilk, chief operations officer of LOT. The airline's first new pilots have already started their training with CAE. CAE and LOT Polish Airlines share a long-standing relationship of more than 10 years, with the provision of pilot training. “It's an honour to support the growing pilot training needs of LOT Polish Airlines across CAE's training network in Europe, near our airline partner's base in Warsaw,” said Nick Leontidis, CAE's group president, Civil Aviation Training Solutions. CityJet deal CAE also signed an exclusive long-term pilot training agreement with regional airline CityJet. Based in Dublin, Ireland, CityJet operates a fleet of 44 regional jets on a network of wet lease and scheduled services across Europe. CityJet employs over 1,200 staff with crew bases in Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Paris, Stockholm, Tallinn and Vilnius. CityJet operated over 80,000 flights in the last year carrying over 4.7 million passengers. Under terms of the agreement, CAE will deliver Bombardier CRJ900 pilot training to the airline for a period of eight years following the start of training expected by May 2020. As a result, CAE will deploy a new CAE 7000XR series CRJ900/1000 full-flight simulator (FFS) at CAE Amsterdam by 2020, and will update its current CRJ200/900 FFS to the latest CRJ900 configuration at CAE Copenhagen by the end of 2019. CAE instructors will also provide Bombardier CRJ900 type-rating training at CAE Copenhagen. The airline's flight and cabin crew will continue to train on the platform at CAE Amsterdam, CAE Brussels, CAE Copenhagen and CAE Stockholm. Additionally, to support CityJet's growth plans and meet its training needs, CAE will train the airline's future pilots starting with 12 cadets next year, building on its previous agreement. As part of their 18-month training program, cadets will complete their ground school and flight training at CAE Oxford and CAE Phoenix. Upon successful completion of their training, graduates will be employed by CityJet. “CAE has been a tremendous partner for CityJet over the past few years, developing our future pilots, and providing an outstanding training experience to our pilots and cabin crew,” said Capt. Robert Campbell Smith, General Manager Flight Operations at CityJet. “With this announcement, the increased capacity and the upgraded simulator at CAE Copenhagen will ensure our training needs will be met in the coming years.” CAE explains it has been CityJet's training partner of choice since 2016, providing cadet to captain and cabin crew training, as well as crew resourcing services. Vueling Airlines deal CAE also reached a deal to launch a cadet pilot training program in partnership with Vueling Airlines based in Barcelona, Spain. CAE will select, assess and train up to 80 new pilots over the next four years for the European airline. Starting in the fall of 2018, the selected candidates will begin an 18-month training program at CAE Madrid. The first group of Vueling's cadets will begin EASA theoretical knowledge training at CAE's training centre in Madrid, followed by flight training at CAE Phoenix and CAE Oxford before returning to CAE Barcelona to complete their Airbus A320 type-rating training. “We are excited to partner with CAE and we are confident that our training partner of choice will deliver professional pilots who will be ready to fly confidently,” said Alberto Guerrero, pilots training director at Vueling. CAE has been providing pilot and cabin crew training to Vueling for almost 15 years. More than 1,000 pilots and cabin crew members have been trained for the Spanish carrier, which is part of the International Airlines Group. https://www.wingsmagazine.com/news/cae-europe-15962