MBDA to supply Sea Ceptor weapon system for Canadian CSC frigates

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  November 19, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  CAE, Jazz and Seneca launch first cadet pilot training program in Canada

  CAE, Jazz Aviation, and Seneca have teamed up to develop Jazz Approach, an innovative Canadian program to provide Jazz with a pipeline of top-quality first officers. Cadets will receive a letter of employment from Jazz upon selection into the program, allowing for a direct path to join the airline as first officers conditional upon successful completion of the program. The parties involved have signed a five-year partnership agreement and the first cohort is set to begin training in April 2020. “CAE creates over 1,500 new pilots yearly over 30 cadet training programs globally, and we are thrilled to add a first Canadian cadet pilot training program to our list of curricula,” said Nick Leontidis, CAE's group president, Civil Aviation Training Solutions. “The demand for pilots has never been so high. With over 300,000 pilots needed globally over the next decade, CAE is working closely with airlines around the world to come up with pilot creation solutions. This program is a one-of-a-kind program, and a great example of how the Canadian aviation industry is working closely together to come up with innovative solutions to face that challenge. We thank Jazz for its trust, we are honored to help expand upon its pipeline of future pilots and we look forward to training them alongside Seneca.” Jazz Aviation's pilots have been training in CAE's network in Canada since 2003. Now, under this new agreement, with its partner Seneca, CAE will be assisting Jazz in the selection, training and certification of new pilots. “We are very excited to partner with two exceptional Canadian organizations, CAE and Seneca, to introduce the Jazz Approach program,” said Capt Steve Linthwaite, vice-president, Flight Operations for Jazz Aviation. “For Jazz, this innovative initiative will be an expansion of our Jazz Aviation Pathways Program (Jazz APP) and provides yet another avenue for future generations of pilots to launch their careers in aviation. The roots of the Jazz APP program go back to 2007 and the addition of Jazz Approach is an important step in growing the program to yet another level. We have worked with both CAE and Seneca for many years and we are delighted to have the opportunity to join together to introduce this program in Canada.” “We are thrilled to be partnering with CAE and Jazz Aviation through this innovative all-Canadian collaboration. The Jazz Approach program builds on the success of our partnership with Jazz Aviation and will be an excellent addition to the suite of academic and hands-on training offered within our School of Aviation,” said Lynne McMullen, director of strategic partnerships with Seneca's School of Aviation. “The Jazz Approach program is another opportunity for Seneca to be on the forefront of flight training in Canada.” About the Jazz Approach program CAE, Jazz and Seneca developed the Jazz Approach program in close collaboration, showcasing the latest competency-based training innovations. The Jazz Approach program embeds Jazz Aviation standard operating procedures (SOPs) and threat and error management strategies. Under the terms of this program, CAE will conduct recruitment, assessment and selection of the cadets according to Jazz's defined criteria. The cadets will undergo the integrated airline transport pilot license (ATPL) training over 18 months at Seneca's School of Aviation in Peterborough, Ont. Following completion, CAE will provide a CRJ200 type rating at CAE Toronto, leveraging CAE's innovative training equipment. Upon successful completion of the training program and subject to certain conditions, the first graduates will join Jazz Aviation as first officers by the end of 2021. Applications for the Jazz Approach training program will open on Dec. 1, 2019. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/cae-jazz-and-seneca-launch-first-cadet-pilot-training-program-in-canada

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  June 23, 2020 | Local, Security

  Talon Helicopters AS365 Dauphin ready to fight fires at night

  Talon Helicopters of Richmond, B.C., is ready to take on nighttime fire attack missions with its night vision goggle (NVG) approved Airbus AS365 N2 Dauphin — the only Transport Canada approved NVG night fire attack medium helicopter in Canada. The nine-passenger aircraft, configured with a night vision cockpit and cabin, has been approved for day and night fire attack operations with the Simplex Model 301 belly tank, which can hold up to 901 litres (238 gallons) of water. Peter Murray, president of Talon Helicopters, said the company is taking advantage of the benefits and safety factors of NVGs, and “the ability to not have a grounding time.” Talon's AS365 is approved to fight fires at night with the Simplex Model 301 belly tank, which can hold up to 901 litres of water. Heath Moffatt Photo He added: “With doing initial attack at night... if a fire starts at 11 p.m. and you're on it at 11:30 p.m., of course you're going to reduce the impact the fire makes if you're on it six or eight hours earlier than if you got on it in the daylight. . . . So we're right on the leading edge of all this.” The NVG certification for the Dauphin has been a multi-year project for Talon. Murray said the company has had the capabilities to fight fires at night for just under a year now, but recently received approval from Transport Canada for all part 702/703 operations with NVGs, which includes flying passengers at night. All of the company's pilots have completed basic NVG training, and “the AS365 pilots have done advanced NVG [training],” said Murray, “so they can go into remote areas and land at night with NVGs.” Murray said the Dauphin outfitted with the Simplex tank is 30 per cent faster than other belly tank-equipped mediums. “It's a fast tank for this machine. With the snorkel stowed, it's 140 knots VNE. . . . With the snorkel on its 120 [knots]. If you're going out to do initial attack and go a distance, you're going to go there at 140 knots and you're going to get there faster,” he said. The Simplex tank has an easy install process with four hard points on the aircraft, and can be removed just as easily for a different mission configuration. “You can probably do the whole hook change and remove the tank within 20 minutes or a half-hour,” said Murray. In place of the belly tank, the Dauphin can be equipped with a 350-gallon FAST Bucket for daytime wildfire operations. A multi-mission helicopter, Talon's Dauphin is also used for medevac, search and rescue, aerial lift work and passenger transport operations. “We call it the Swiss Army knife of helicopters because we have a full approved stretcher kit (we got that approved in Canada), and then we have the hoist as well; we're approved for day and night hoisting” using Transport Canada approved crew harnesses and evacuation equipment, and a 300-foot hoist cable with a 600-pound load limit. Along with its night fire attack and nighttime hoist certifications, Talon is approved for night hover entry/exit. The aircraft has a number of STC'd avionics upgrades including the Garmin GTN 750 touchscreen navigator, helicopter terrain awareness warning system, traffic collision avoidance systems, and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast. Building on the company's NVG firefighting capabilities, Murray said Talon is looking into collecting data on daytime and nighttime fire attack operations to evaluate the difference in the cost of fighting the fires and the cost of losing resources like trees, as well as structures. For example, “what would happen if we put 20,000 litres of water around one burning tree at nighttime... what would we have in the morning? Would it be a mop up for a couple of days, instead of a two-month production?” he said. While the current Covid-19 crisis has delayed these data-gathering initiatives, Murray said the company is still working to pursue them in the near future. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/talon-helicopters-as365-dauphin-fight-fires-night

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  November 26, 2019 | Local, Other Defence

  U.S. sent ‘blunt’ letter to Canada criticizing defence spending: sources

  BY MERCEDES STEPHENSON AND KERRI BREEN Canada has been officially called out by the United States over how much it spends on the military, Global News has learned. A “blunt” letter from the U.S. government was delivered to the Department of National Defence that criticized Canadian defence spending levels and repeated American demands that Canada meet NATO targets. Global News has not seen the letter — said to have a frustrated, critical tone — but multiple sources have confirmed it was sent and received. U.S. President Donald Trump has long called for members of the 29-nation military alliance to beef up their budgets for defence. His national security adviser Robert O'Brien, who spoke Saturday at the Halifax International Security Forum, said getting NATO members to meet the established target — two per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — is an urgent priority. “There are very serious threats to our freedom and our security and if NATO is going to be effective, and if we want to put our money where our talk is, we got to spend that money to defend ourselves,” he said. Nations including Canada agreed at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales​ to move towards the military spending target within a decade, he noted. “We expect our friends and our colleagues to live up to their commitments and their promises,” he said. He also praised Canada's plan to build and deploy Arctic patrol vessels. The North, he said, is going to be the new “frontline” of defence, as Russia and China have made it clear they are going to militarize the Arctic. One Canadian source told Global News that the U.S. is concerned that Canada does not take the threat from those countries in the Arctic seriously and wants the country to boost its contributions in that area. Just seven countries — including the U.S. and the U.K. — have met NATO's two per cent of GDP spending goal, according to figures released in June. NATO's estimates show Canada is expected to spend 1.27 per cent of its GDP on the military this year, up from about one per cent in 2014. Canada does fare better when you look at its defence budget in dollars and cents, said Dave Perry, vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. The country spends the sixth highest amount overall among NATO members on its military. As for meeting the percentage of GDP target, Perry's not optimistic despite planned increases in the defence budget. “Canada is not on a path to live up to the commitments that we were signing up for in 2014 in Wales,” he said. Last year, Canada spent about $22.9 billion on the Department of National Defence. But Ottawa intends to dramatically boost military spending in the coming years. In 2017, the government released a plan to increase the budget to almost $33 billion annually within a decade. Asked about the letter from the U.S., Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan touted this plan to strengthen spending. Discussions around “burden sharing” within the bloc have been happening for some time, he said. He noted that under the government's plan, the defence budget would see an increase of 70 per cent, a “significant amount.” “The relationship with Canada and the U.S., the defence relationship, I think, is even stronger now, because they see a tangible plan that we have created,” he said on an episode of The West Block that aired Sunday. “It's working, actually, extremely well.” The U.S. sending such a letter is an unusual, formal means of relaying a message, and it represents an escalation from previous attempts to get Canada to spend more on its military. That pressure has been increasing in recent weeks ahead of the NATO summit in London starting on Dec. 3. In fact, the same message has been conveyed in multiple ways to the federal government, a diplomatic source said, and NATO itself also wants to see more military spending from Canada. In July, however, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg suggested publicly he was happy with improvements in Canadian defence spending. “Under your leadership,” he said to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, ​​”Canada has stepped up its contributions to our NATO alliance including with forces for NATO missions and operations and increased spending.” But one former defence minister said the letter from the U.S. — NATO's leader in defence spending in relation to its GDP — was not a good sign. Peter MacKay said such a letter amounts to “a very serious diplomatic slap — not on the wrist, but in the face.” During his time in government, the former Nova Scotia Conservative MP said he had talks with defence secretaries regarding Canadian military spending and the country's goal of reaching two per cent. “Those discussions can be forceful and frank but they took place face to face,” said MacKay, who was defence minister for six years under former prime minister Stephen Harper. “Sending a démarche (diplomatic letter) is really ratcheting it up a notch.” https://globalnews.ca/news/6210623/canada-defence-spending-nato/