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On the same subject

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  March 3, 2021 | Local, Aerospace

  Canada’s CAE buys L3Harris military training unit, with eyes on US programs

  CAE defense head Dan Gelston tells Defense News why the $1.05 billion deal positions the company to go after future fighter and bomber programs.

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  September 14, 2018 | Local, Naval

  Lockheed Martin tweet on Canadian Surface Combatant creates a stir

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Lockheed Martin-BAE team pursuing the Canadian Surface Combatant created a stir on social media among defence observers when it suggested earlier this week that its bid had been qualified for the program. Three consortiums had submitted bids for the CSC program, with a winner expected to be announced by the end of the year. Industry is closely watching which firms might be qualified for the $60 billion project. So on Sept. 10 a tweet by the Lockheed Martin/BAE team raised more than a few eyebrows. “BAE System's Type 26 meets all requirements in the CSC proposal, including speed.” So was the team announcing their bid had been qualified? What was particularly intriguing is that some industry representatives have been for several months continuing to claim that the Type 26 can't meet speed requirements for the Royal Canadian Navy. It appeared that the Type 26 folks were confirming they had received the thumbs up from the CSC evaluating team. Or had they? A spokesman for Public Services and Procurement Canada gave Defence Watch a rundown on where the program was at. The CSC evaluation is still ongoing and none of the three bidders have received any details yet on whether their proposals have been deemed “compliant.” It turned out that the tweet was simply the view by the Lockheed Martin/BAE team that their bid would be deemed compliant. Here is what Lockheed Martin responded with when asked by Defence Watch about the tweet: “Based on our technical and professional expertise and analysis of the requirements established for CSC, we are confident that our entire solution meets or exceeds the technical requirements established in the RFP and it is based on that degree of certainty that we have communicated our message.” https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/lockheed-martin-tweet-on-canadian-surface-combatant-creates-a-stir

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  April 25, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Lack of expert procurement staff could hinder Canadian Forces drone purchase

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Department of National Defence has updated details about its key ongoing defence procurements. I have written an article on that update which can be viewed at the National Post website: https://nationalpost.com/news/government-expects-to-award-contract-for-new-fighter-jet-fleet-in-2022-but-admits-it-could-face-delays The article notes the DND warning about issues that could affect the proposed purchase of a fleet of uninhabited aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones. The DND update warned that there might not be enough procurement staff with the required expertise to move that program forward on schedule. The department hopes to deal with the problem by hiring contractors. A draft invitation to qualify for that project was released April 5 and a contact is expected to be awarded in 2022, the update pointed out. The lack of staff has been an ongoing issue for the UAV program but in other ways. In May 2010 I reported The Canadian Force's plan to buy pilotless aircraft to conduct surveillance off the country's coasts, in the Arctic and on overseas missions had fallen behind schedule because the military doesn't have enough people to fly the drones. While the UAVs don't carry pilots, they still require an operator on the ground to fly the craft. Staff are also needed to maintain the equipment and to prepare them for flight. But at the time the air force was having difficulty finding enough people for a new unit that would be needed to operate the UAVs. Then called the Joint UAV Surveillance and Target Acquisition System or JUSTAS, there had been a number of plans for the acquisition. One of the earlier ones involved a request for proposals from industry to be issued by the end of 2009 and a contract signed in 2010. The first of the UAVs would have arrived by February 2012. That obviously didn't happen. A reworked plan called for the delivery of the UAVs in 2014, with full operating capability in 2017. That didn't happen. The project is now named, RPAS, for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System. The latest plan calls for a contract to be awarded in 2022-2023 with full capability – an armed drone fleet – in place by 2029-2030. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/lack-of-expert-procurement-staff-could-hinder-canadian-forces-drone-purchase