MDA Awarded $7.9 Million for Lunar Gateway Robotics Phase A Contracts

On the same subject

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  December 14, 2018 | Local, Naval

  Trade tribunal puts frigate program back on track

  Murray Brewster · CBC News The federal government's plan to award to a group of companies led by Lockheed Martin Canada the contract to design and support the construction of the navy's new frigates has been — nominally — put back on track. The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has rescinded an order, issued late last month, that prevented the signing of the deal. The decision to reverse course was made Monday after Public Services and Procurement Canada "certified in writing that the ... procurement is urgent and that a delay in awarding the contract would be contrary to the public interest," according to a copy of the ruling. The decision opens the way for the government to finalize the contract, which is still under negotiation. The Lockheed Martin Canada-led team was selected in October as the preferred bidder after a nearly two-year-long competition to select an off-the-shelf design for the 15 new warships that eventually will replace the navy's frigates. One of the competitors, Alion, asked the CITT to investigate the procurement deal, saying the preferred warship design will need substantial changes and doesn't meet the navy's requirements as spelled out in the government tender. The company also has asked the Federal Court in a separate filing for a judicial review of the long-awaited decision. That case is still pending. The federal government hopes to be able to sign a contract this winter. The order to postpone implementing a deal could have had a devastating impact on the $60 billion program, which already has suffered a series of delays. One of the biggest concerns involved an anticipated production slowdown at the go-to shipyard for warship construction, Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax. The federal government is expecting gap of, possibly, 18 months between the completion of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships and the beginning of construction on the new frigates, known as Canadian Surface Combatants. The Liberal government has attempted to mitigate the slowdown by confirming the construction of six Arctic patrol ships. Further delays to the new frigates would have made that worse. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trade-tribunal-puts-frigate-program-back-on-track-1.4941507

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  November 18, 2020 | Local, Naval

  New Call for Applications: Corrosion Detection in Ships Sandbox/

  Corrosion Detection in Ships Sandbox: Rust Never Sleeps Test your best solutions to find corrosion trouble spots for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The Corrosion Detection in Ships Sandbox, delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now accepting applications. The Sandbox will take place at the Centre for Ocean Ventures & Entrepreneurship (COVE) facility in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the spring of 2021. Please note that if current COVID restrictions are not lifted in time for the Sandbox to proceed, additional postponement may be required. Participants will get the opportunity to showcase their products in realistic simulations, with successful demonstrations resulting in access to an actual vessel to demonstrate their solution in a real world environment. Apply now to test your technologies at one of the leading collaborative facilities for applied innovation in the ocean sector. The deadline to apply is December 15, 2020. Apply now Test Drives: Bringing a whole new element to the innovation ecosystem With new technology, there is no better way to see if it delivers on its promise then to put it to work. That's why IDEaS will soon be launching Test Drives, an element designed to take a product and put it in the hands of real armed forces members as they put it through its paces. Products will travel through this final stage of the IDEaS innovation pipeline into the real world, unlocking its potential. IDEaS will acquire use of the solutions to be evaluated via a purchase, lease, loan or other arrangement with the innovator. Stay tuned for details! Reminder: CFP4 Call Closing Soon! The deadline to apply for the new Competitive Projects challenges is fast approaching! Don't miss your opportunity to find new ways to support our troops with your logistics solutions, new armour designs and visual and data security. Applications must be submitted by December 10th, 2020. Sincerely, The IDEaS team

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  June 17, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

  Modernization program for Snowbirds aircraft jumps in price

  David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen The cost of modernizing the planes used by the Snowbirds aerobatic team has more than doubled and could end up costing more than three times the original amount because of the needed upgrades. The Department of National Defence had budgeted $26 million to keep the Snowbirds aircraft operating until at least 2030, according to a briefing provided to aerospace industry representatives last year in Ottawa and obtained by this newspaper. DND officials couldn't explain Monday the difference in the cost estimates but when aerospace industry representatives were briefed last year the project at that point included modernizing aircraft avionics. The project details on the DND website have added a new ejection seat as well as modernized communications and navigation equipment for the Snowbirds CT-114 Tutor jets. Questions about the ejection seats in the Tutor aircraft fleet emerged after Capt. Jennifer Casey, the team's public affairs officer, died on May 17 when the Snowbirds aircraft she was a passenger in crashed in Kamloops, B.C. Video of the incident appears to show Casey and Capt. Richard MacDougall, the pilot of the CT-114 Tutor aircraft, eject from the plane shortly before it slammed into the ground. MacDougall survived with serious injuries. A Canadian Forces flight safety team has focused its investigation into the crash on a possible bird strike as well as on the performance of the aircraft's escape system, the team noted in a statement. A witness at the crash scene claimed that Casey's parachute did not open. The Canadian military knew in 2016 the ejection seat on Snowbirds aircraft needed to be upgraded but it acknowledged it is still only in the early stages of modernizing that system. The Royal Canadian Air Force has now started a project to upgrade the parachutes on the ejection seats. During the briefing last year, aerospace industry officials were told a request for bids to upgrade the Tutor jets would be issued next year. A contract would be awarded that same year, the briefing noted. The first of the upgraded CT-114 Tutors would be ready for the Snowbirds in 2022, according to the industry briefing. The project would be finished by 2025 with all upgraded planes delivered by then. “The project will life extend the CT-114 Tutor until the year 2030,” industry officials were told. The avionics upgrade is required if the planes are to continue flying in North American airspace. The Department of National Defence stated in an email to this newspaper that the analysis of what is needed for the aircraft modernization is almost complete. “The project is progressing into definition where design, engineering and prototyping will take place over the next 18 months,” the email noted. The cost to modernize the Tutors pales in comparison with the proposed price tag for replacing the aircraft. That project could cost between $500 million and $1.5 billion, according to the DND. The planes have been in the Canadian Forces inventory since 1963 and have been used by the Snowbirds since 1971. The Tutors were supposed to have been retired in 2010, but that date was then extended to 2020. The latest extension allows the aircraft to fly until at least 2030. The Royal Canadian Air Force, however, is facing a potential dilemma with replacing the aircraft. The federal government has indicated it wants the aerobatic team to continue operating and the Snowbirds are seen as a key public relations tool for the military. But some in the Canadian Forces have privately questioned spending money on the Snowbirds because they do not directly contribute combat capabilities to the air force. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/modernization-program-for-snowbirds-aircraft-jumps-in-price