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December 17, 2023 | Local, Security

Minister Blair announces measures to strengthen Canada’s military presence in Latvia

Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, accompanied by General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, are visiting Latvia – home to Canada’s largest foreign military deployment

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2023/12/minister-blair-announces-measures-to-strengthen-canadas-military-presence-in-latvia.html

On the same subject

  • Canadian warship shadowed Chinese vessel off Alaska last month, National Defence says | CBC News

    August 1, 2024 | Local, Naval

    Canadian warship shadowed Chinese vessel off Alaska last month, National Defence says | CBC News

    A Chinese polar research vessel was shadowed by a Canadian warship in the Bering Strait off Alaska a few weeks ago, the Department of National Defence acknowledged on Wednesday.

  • Poor IT support hurting Canadian military operations, internal review finds

    January 8, 2021 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Poor IT support hurting Canadian military operations, internal review finds

    Lee Berthiaume The Canadian Press OTTAWA -- An internal Defence Department report has warned that Canadian Armed Forces operations and security may be at risk due to major problems with how the military's computer networks are built and supported. The report follows a review of the Defence Department's information management and technology systems, which are described as "critical" to the success of Canadian military operations and training. That review uncovered a patchwork of IT systems across the Defence Department and Armed Forces that was not only inefficient and expensive to maintain, but also often out-of-date and poorly supported. The brunt of the report's criticism is directed at the technical support provided to the military by another federal entity, Shared Services Canada, the agency that took over management of most federal networks in August 2011. Nearly all defence and military officials who participated in the review were upset by the amount of time it took Shared Services to respond to requests for help, according to the report. In some instances, those delays harmed operations. The report cited one instance in which an email server that went down during an unspecified domestic mission couldn't be fixed right away because it was a weekend and Shared Services did not have staff on call. The reviewers also found that a quarter of requests for assistance made to Shared Services remained unresolved after six months, and the agency did not have anybody in Europe to help the hundreds of Canadian troops posted there. While the problems were partly attributed to a lack of appropriate IT resources and staff, the report also flagged the lack of an agreement between the Defence Department and Shared Services establishing clear expectations for network support. Without such an agreement, the report, defence and military officials believed Shared Services not only didn't understand their needs but also wasn't required to respond quickly, "which led to putting clients at great risk on a number of fronts, including security." Delays in tech support weren't the only point of contention between the Defence Department and Shared Services, with the latter upsetting the navy by requiring the removal of equipment that had increased bandwidth on warships. Shared Services also stopped supporting some older intelligence systems while they were still being used by the air force, army and navy, according to the report recently published on the Defence Department website. Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier on Monday described the review as a "valuable tool" for improving IT support even as he defended the department's relationship with Shared Services Canada. "We have a good working relationship with Shared Services Canada and the two departments continue to work collaboratively to ensure the appropriate and timely delivery of IT services to DND/CAF," he said. "We are also reviewing our relationship with Shared Services Canada with a focus on improving the service delivery model to help better support the department and the Canadian Armed Forces." The internal report also took aim at the military's troubled procurement system, which was found to deliver IT equipment with inadequate or out-of-date technology. Poor planning was partly to blame but the report also blamed onerous levels of oversight. While that oversight was described as the result of cost overruns and delays on past IT projects, the report said that it nonetheless created new problems in delivering modern equipment. "The complex processes associated with the capital projects and procurement are very slow and cumbersome," according to the report. "The process cannot keep up with the rate of change of technology." Those delays -- and their potential impact on operations -- were also cited as a major reason for why a patchwork of IT systems and programs now cover different parts of the Defence Department and military. While that patchwork might serve the day-to-day needs of the military, it was also found to be inefficient and expensive. To that end, the reviewers could not pinpoint exactly how much was being spent by the Defence Department and military on IT services and support every year, but estimated it at more than $700 million. In response to the report, senior officials told reviewers that they were looking at ways to better calculate annual spending on IT and address the problems that have contributed to the creation of so many systems in the first place. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2021. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/poor-it-support-hurting-canadian-military-operations-internal-review-finds-1.5253148

  • Ottawa firm to support Royal Canadian Navy, local robotics company joins Rheinmetall

    September 11, 2019 | Local, Naval

    Ottawa firm to support Royal Canadian Navy, local robotics company joins Rheinmetall

    DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN BMT Canada Ltd. was recently awarded a $77.8 million contract to provide engineering, logistics, management, and support services to the Royal Canadian Navy's fleet. The contract initially runs for five years but there are options to extend that, according to the latest industry roundup in this month's Esprit de Corps defence magazine. The Ottawa-based company will provide a wide variety of work such as standards development and logistics services for equipment sustainment, according to the Department of National Defence. This contract will support the RCN's current and future fleet in instances where DND does not have the capacity to perform all of this work in-house, the department noted. The contract is known as Engineering, Logistics, and Management Support 2 (ELMS2) and the company's services will directly support the Director General Maritime Equipment Program Management (DGMEPM) and the Director General Major Project Delivery (DGMPD) (Sea) at the DND. Darcy Byrtus, President of BMT Canada, noted that the firm has been handling the ELMS contract since 2009. “Our experience in supporting complex programs positions us uniquely to assist Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy in successful delivery of its acquisition and support mandates,” he added in a news release. Under ELMS, BMT and their Tier 1 subcontractor Fleetway Inc., will provide a highly diverse range of services including the review of deliverables DND receives from capital acquisition projects, such as the Canadian Surface Combatant. The work also entails engineering expertise, technical investigations and program support. Rheinmetall Canada has taken over Provectus, an Ottawa-based firm specializing in the development of advanced robotics systems and software. Though now owned by Rheinmetall Canada, Provectus will continue to operate under its previous managing director, Paul Rocco. In recent product presentations, Rheinmetall has generated great interest with its Mission Master unmanned multi-mission vehicle, which is based on Provectus technology, modified for military use by Rheinmetall Canada. The firm sees unmanned ground vehicles playing an increasingly important role in future military operations on land, much like unmanned air vehicles do in an aviation context. Some will serve in an unarmed logistic or reconnaissance role; others will function as mobile weapon platforms. “We have already been working closely with Provectus in our unmanned ground vehicle project,” Stéphane Oehrli, president and CEO of Rheinmetall Canada, noted in a statement. “This vertical integration gives us a decisive advantage in the field of autonomous mobility technology.” Rheinmetall says it wants to apply expertise from Provectus Robotics Solutions in implementing the Canadian military's ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) project. Maerospace Corporation has signed of a global license agreement with Raytheon Canada Limited to support the Defence Research and Development Canada by assuming responsibility for the maintenance, design, engineering, manufacturing and international promotion, sales and deployment of the third generation High Frequency Surface Wave Radar (HFSWR) systems. This Canadian system is one of the few operationally deployed HFSWR land-based radars capable of 200-mile, persistent coverage of a country's Exclusive Economic Zone. HFSWR systems have been successfully deployed in Asia and Europe with the most advanced, 3rd Generation system installed in Canada. Maerospace plans to extend the HFSWR system's functionality by integrating its TimeCaster proprietary technology that would add target identification, anomaly detection, and other capabilities, allowing coast guards, navies and maritime authorities to improve their ability to interdict vessels and plan traffic throughout their EEZ. The Canadian government will launch a new satellite in 2022 to demonstrate the use of quantum technology for protecting commercial and national communication networks. Honeywell has received a $30 million contract from the Canadian Space Agency for the design and implementation phases of agency's Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite or QEYSSat. Under the contract, Honeywell will build, test, deliver, provide training for and commission the QEYSSat satellite, which will create a link between ground and space to transmit encryption keys. The microsatellite is expected to be completed in early 2022. QEYSSat's mission is to test quantum technology with an aim to develop a system to protect both commercial and national communications infrastructure. Longview Aviation Capital and its subsidiary Viking Air Limited announced a seven aircraft sales contract for six new-production CL-515 aircraft and one CL-415EAF. The CL-515 is a newly developed, technically advanced multi-mission aerial firefighting aircraft – the next generation of the CANADAIR CL-415, an amphibious aircraft and used extensively around the world in firefighting missions. The Republic of Indonesia's Ministry of Defense has agreed to purchase six all-new CL-515 aircraft, four of which will be delivered in “First Responder” multi-mission configuration, and two delivered in optimized aerial firefighter configuration, according to Viking. The purchase agreement also includes one CANADAIR CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” aircraft. The CL-515 is capable of up to 15 per cent better aerial firefighting productivity, including increased tank capacity and ability to refill in 14 seconds. It has a state-of-the-art Collins Pro Line Fusion digital avionics suite for advanced situational awareness. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/ottawa-firm-to-support-royal-canadian-navy-local-robotics-company-joins-rheinmetall

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