Military expert suggests Canada may want to consider its own space force

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  June 8, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

  CAF inks deal with Bombardier to replace two 30-year-old Challenger aircraft

  The Government of Canada recently announced it is replacing two Bombarder Challenger 601 utility aircraft with two Challenger 650s for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to allow for continuation of mission critical roles. The retiring aircraft that entered service in the 1980s fall short of operational requirements and are nearly obsolete due to new rules in the United States and Europe that will restrict their ability to fly internationally before the end of this year. The replacement ensures CAF can continue to operate a modern and flexible utility flight service fleet that serves a variety of roles — including reconnaissance and liaison missions with international partners, and the speedy deployment of specialized capabilities and expertise, including the Disaster Assistance Response Team. Without this needed replacement, the Royal Canadian Air Force's operational effectiveness for missions would be limited. The aircraft are used for the medical evacuation of military personnel serving overseas and the safe transport of CAF medical personnel and specialized equipment in the critical first few hours and days of someone being wounded. They are also used for the safe extraction and repatriation of personnel and citizens. The fleet further provides the ability to transport specialized teams from Canada to operational theatres around the world. Earlier this month, a Challenger quickly brought Royal Canadian Navy search experts to Naples, Italy, to support the search for the Cyclone helicopter lost in the Ionian Sea. This fleet provides critical abilities here at home. It has been used in the whole-of-government effort to support Northern, Indigenous and remote communities during COVID-19. In May 2020, it supported the delivery of COVID-19 testing supplies to Nunavut. The aircraft have been at the ready to help provincial and territorial partners with medical evacuations, if required. This fleet is also critical in facilitating the travel of senior government officials, as well as Parliamentarians from all parties due to security and safety considerations. The CAF's existing Challenger fleet consists of four aircraft, two purchased in the early 1980s and two purchased in the early 2000s. With the implementation of new international regulatory and interoperability requirements in 2020, only half of the fleet is fully compliant with international standards. That is why the Department of National Defence has been working on this consolidation initiative since 2018, and why the government entered into a contract with Bombardier this week, after negotiating the most cost-effective option for these capabilities, which were accounted and paid with existing funds in SSE's fiscal framework. The Challenger 650 aircraft is the current production version of the model that the CAF currently operates. This commonality will result in significant benefits in efficiency, cost, and interoperability, both in terms of training and support to operations. “This purchase is another example of our government's commitment to provide the Canadian Armed Forces with the modern equipment they need to carry out the critical work we ask of them. This fleet is a crucial operational capability and ensuring its continuity is another important investment in our women and men in uniform,” said Harjit S. Sajjan, minister of National Defence. “While helping to fulfill the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) operational requirements, this purchase also demonstrates our commitment to Canada's world-class aerospace industry. Having this ready, off-the-shelf option also offers long-term value to the RCAF and to Canada,” said Anita Anand, minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/caf-inks-deal-with-bombardier-to-replace-two-30-year-old-challenger-aircraft

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  October 4, 2022 | Local, Naval

  Canadian Coast Guard takes important steps to reduce fleet emissions

  Ottawa, Ontario - Reducing carbon emissions is one of the most important ways Canada and Canadians can fight against climate change. In line with the Government of Canada's 2030 and 2050 commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) is pursuing tangible decarbonization efforts. Today, CCG announced important steps in reducing its emission output: the start of a biodiesel testing project and the launch of the next phase in the construction of the Government of Canada's first hybrid electric vessel. Earlier this month, following the award of a contract to procure biodiesel from Windsor, Ontario based Sterling Fuels, CCG broke historic ground for the Government of Canada, becoming the first Government agency to trial a 20% biodiesel blend in one of its vessels, the CCGS Caribou Isle. Over the next months, various biodiesel ratios will be tested in order to enable the CCG to assess operational feasibility and technological compatibility of higher blend rates across various operational settings. This biodiesel test project will assist in advancing solutions to decrease emissions in the immediate term. In addition to testing greener fuels, the CCG is preparing for construction of a new hybrid electric Near-Shore Fishery Research Vessel (NSFRV) to reduces consumption of diesel. Following the design and engineering work for a vessel class fitted with a battery energy storage system, the CCG has issued a request for proposal to Canadian shipbuilders to start construction of one vessel. The successful bidder will incorporate Canadian innovative green technologies in the construction of the vessel. These include the overall design by British Columbia vessel designer Robert Allan Ltd, a propulsion and battery system by Prince Edward Island engineering firm Aspin Kemp and Associates, and deck equipment systems engineering by Nova Scotia's Hawboldt Industries Ltd. Canadian shipbuilders are welcome to learn more about this opportunity, by visiting the NSFRV Build Request for Proposal on CanadaBuys. Through these two important projects, the CCG is taking a major step in the overall objective of lowering our fleet's carbon emissions. Over time, the CCG looks forward to continuing this important work in partnership with leading Canadian green industries. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-coast-guard/news/2022/10/canadian-coast-guard-takes-important-steps-to-reduce-fleet-emissions.html

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  May 13, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  ‘Hard decisions are going to have to be made’: can vital defence procurements survive in a post-pandemic world?

  By NEIL MOSS MAY. 13, 2020 'When you are trying to fix a fiscal problem, inevitably national defence is part of the way governments have tended to try and fix that,' says defence procurement expert David Perry. In the midst of critical procurements that will set the framework for the Canadian military for years to come, questions remain on how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the oft-delayed projects. The pandemic has already impacted the two most high-profile defence procurement projects with another delay in the replacement of Canada's fighter fleet as well as a reduced capability at the shipyard that will be building the 15 new warships that will serve as the backbone of the Canadian Navy for decades to come. “Companies and government are always generally working hard trying to meet [the] schedule, and make up time wherever they can afterwards, but there's a limit what you can do to replace a few lost weeks of work,” said David Perry, a defence procurement expert and vice-president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “The impacts are going to be tangible,” Mr. Perry said, adding that the picture is still murky about the final impact on the current procurements as defence companies are still trying to get a handle on the pandemic. The high-profile $19-billion project to replace Canada's fleet of CF-18 fighter jets was delayed a second time in 100 days last week, over a bidder's concern over completing its bid on time, according to a Canadian Press report. Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax shipyard, which has been tasked to build two central pieces for the future of the Canadian Navy in six Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships and 15 Canadian Surface Combatants, is running at half capacity with around 650 people working at the shipyard and 300 remotely, according to a CTV report. The two projects are projected to cost upwards of $4.3-billion and $60-billion, respectively. Mr. Perry also said the impact on the procurements will depend on what stage the project is in, with less effect for those still in design and requirement phases and more impact on projects in the midst of construction. He added that the impact will also depend on where the facilities are located, as the Irving shipyard in Nova Scotia faced a three-week shutdown, opposed to the Seaspan shipyards in B.C., which has continued relatively normal operations. A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence told The Hill Times that progress is still being made “where possible” on current and future equipment for the Canadian Forces. “While our focus must be on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain committed to the National Shipbuilding Strategy and other defence projects under Strong, Secure, Engaged,” the spokesperson said in an email. “We continue to meet regularly with PSPC [Public Services and Procurement Canada] to address the delivery of ongoing and future major procurement projects, and to assess and address the impact of the pandemic on these projects. However, given that the extent of COVID-19, or how long this situation will last, cannot be assessed at this time, it is not yet possible to determine the impact this situation will have on our projects,” the statement read, adding that the focus remains on continuing essential services, which include “domestic operations and search and rescue.” Former Air Force pilot Alan Stephenson said that there is “no doubt” that there will be “a huge impact” to defence procurement caused by the pandemic, pointing to the government's ballooning spending. Mr. Stephenson, a retired colonel who is now a senior associate at David Pratt and Associates, said the problem with the fighter jet procurement is being compounded by successive governments' use of military spending to solve other problems. “Now we find ourselves with ... fighters that will be over 50 years old,” he said. “And we'll be flying [the CF-18s] into the future.” “COVID has changed the game,” Mr. Stephenson said, adding that the focus on the Liberals' 2017 defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, will still be present, but there will be fiscal questions of its feasibility. “Hard decisions are going to have to be made,” he said, as the government will balance military requirements with economic needs. Mr. Perry said historically when the government has needed to slash spending, it has looked at the military. “When you are trying to fix a fiscal problem, inevitably national defence is part of the way governments have tended to try and fix that,” he said, adding that given the size of the defence budget, it is “virtually impossible” to address an economic situation without making some fiscal changes at the Department of National Defence. But he said that historical pattern may not continue as it's a different kind of fiscal problem for the government. “In a dynamic where you have real big impacts on consumer confidence and there's also, I think, fairly serious concerns about the availability of financing and liquidity in the civilian economy, potentially there's more of a room for DND and the Government of Canada writ large to be part of the economic solution here and not just part of the fiscal problem,” Mr. Perry said. Former naval officer Norman Jolin, who served in the Canadian Navy for 37 years and commanded the Halifax-class HMCS Montréal, said the last thing the government will want to do is cancel projects that it has already announced at the expense of Canadian workers. “The last thing [the government] would want to do in a world where we've lost so many jobs is to cause more people not to have jobs by cutting things,” he said. Mr. Jolin compared the National Shipbuilding Strategy to the construction of a trans-Canada railway in the 19th century. “This is jobs across Canada,” he said, adding that it is not just jobs at shipyards but throughout the supply chain including manufacturing jobs in southern Ontario. Mr. Jolin said with the procurements under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the lengthy timeline will mitigate the pandemic's impact. For the Canadian Surface Combatant procurement, the first ship isn't projected to be completed until the mid-2020s and the final delivery date for the entire fleet is in the late 2040s. He said while there may be minor delays in the short term, it shouldn't have much impact on when the ships are delivered in the end. But he said there is still much unknown about how the pandemic has affected the procurement process. Charles Davies, a retired colonel in the Armed Forces who spent time as the senior director responsible for procurement and equipment management policy at the Department of National Defence, also said the long timeline on projects should reduce the impact of any delay. “In the inherently long gestation periods of the major programs, the net impact should be limited,” he said. Mr. Davies, a CDA Institute fellow, said now can be a time for the government to look to make key investments in capabilities that will be needed in the future to defend its borders while at the same time keeping the economy afloat. He said unlike in the mid-1990s during the budget cuts under then-prime minister Jean Chrétien, Canada is not in the geopolitical position to allow its defence budget to dissipate. “We're in a different world now,” he said, citing the “strategic environment” with more aggressive behaviour being seen from the Chinese and Russian governments. https://www.hilltimes.com/2020/05/13/hard-decisions-are-going-to-have-to-be-made-can-vital-defence-procurements-survive-in-a-post-pandemic-world/247826