February 6, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

More than 100 military procurements facing delays: Defence Department

The delivery dates for new or upgraded equipment, some of which is needed urgently, have been pushed several years into the future

by Lee Berthiaume

OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence has identified delays in more than 100 planned military purchases and facility upgrades, most of which have flown under the radar as attention has focused on the government's problems buying new fighter jets and warships.

While some of the schedule setbacks revealed by the Defence Department are relatively minor, others are significant, with the delivery dates for new or upgraded equipment — some of which is needed urgently — pushed several years into the future.

Those include new engineering vehicles and machine-guns for the army, new drones for the navy to hunt mines and satellite hookups for its submarines, and upgrades to the air force's aging fighter-jet and surveillance aircraft fleets.

More than half the list of 117 delayed projects is infrastructure projects on military bases, including health facilities, maintenance and storage hangars, armouries and ammunition depots.

The list was produced by the Defence Department and recently tabled in the House of Commons in response to a request from the official Opposition Conservatives.

Federal officials have to get better at setting “predictable” schedules when it comes to purchasing new equipment, Troy Crosby, whose job as assistant deputy minister of materiel is to oversee procurement at the Defence Department, acknowledged in an interview.

Yet Crosby believes much of the frustration around military procurement is the result of unrealistic expectations born of a lack of understanding and appreciation for how the system, which is dealing with more projects than at any time in recent history, actually works.

“The complexity of what it takes to bring a new piece of equipment into service is extraordinary, and early, early, early in a process, when we don't even know what it is we're going to buy or from where, there's a lot of uncertainty around those schedules,” he told The Canadian Press.

“I think people will understand ... you can't nail a date down to a month in a year specifically. And then if you're two days late or two months late or what have you, are you really late or was there just an amount of uncertainty around those schedules to begin with?”

As an example, Crosby pointed to the delayed delivery of new search-and-rescue airplanes, where the air force has been wrangling with the manufacturer Airbus over the level of detail that must be in the aircraft's technical manuals before the military will accept the planes.

“Three years into the contract, we're behind 18 days,” he said. “That's not a failure. If the standard is perfection, will defence procurement ever be not broken? I'm not sure. I think you're holding us to a pretty amazing standard.”

At the same time, Crosby noted that the air force's Buffalo and Hercules airplanes, which have been performing search-and-rescue missions in Canada for decades, continue to operate despite being long past their replacement dates.

“Do we want to get (the Forces) even better equipment so they can be even more effective at the job using modern technology? Yes,” said Crosby.

“But the Buffalo and those (search-and-rescue) crews are delivering for Canadians now. So I wouldn't want to leave the impression there that suddenly these capabilities don't work.”

Yet there have been several examples in recent years of the military either doing without because equipment got too old to use or the government investing taxpayer dollars to keep old gear going longer than anticipated.

Those include the navy having been without destroyers for the past few years, the government spending nearly $700 million to lease a temporary supply ship and plans to spend more than $1 billion to keep CF-18 fighters from the 1980s flying to 2032.

While some of those problems were caused by political dithering or mismanagement, they nonetheless underscore the real cost of delays.

The list of delayed projects produced by the Defence Department included brief explanations for why each procurement has been delayed. Some, such as the purchase of new machine-guns, related to problems with industry and fell outside government's control.

Others were afflicted with unforeseen technical issues and many of the delays were the result of “detailed schedule analysis” by government officials, suggesting the original timeframes were unrealistic or otherwise inaccurate.

There were also several delays, such as a plan to upgrade the sensors and weapons on the air force's Griffon helicopters, attributed to a shortage of procurement staff and other internal government resources.

Despite the delays, Crosby said he felt military procurement is “in a good place,” listing the recent delivery of new armoured vehicles and trucks for the army and the pending arrival of new Arctic patrol ships for the navy and the search-and-rescue planes for the air force.

“A lot is moving out,” he said. “There's a lot of movement.”

Conservative defence critic James Bezan, however, suggested the delays were the result of Liberal government mismanagement.

“The Trudeau Liberals continue to dither and delay when it comes to procuring new equipment for the Canadian Armed Forces,” he said in an email. “It is clear that the Trudeau Liberals repeatedly fail when it comes to procuring and upgrading equipment for our military heroes.”

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's press secretary Floriane Bonneville defended the Liberals' record on procurement.

“Overall, 90% of procurements are delivered within their planned scope and budget,” she said in a statement. “Our defence plan, Strong, Secure, Engaged, helps build strong, healthy communities and secures well-paying middle class jobs for Canadians. From boots to ships, we will continue to ensure Canada's military is well-equipped for the task at hand.”

https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/manufacturing/more-than-100-military-procurements-facing-delays-defence-department-246478/

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December 26, 2019 | Local, Naval

CAE wins contract to provide German Navy with comprehensive NH90 Sea Lion training solution
Stolberg, Germany, December 19, 2019 – CAE today announced that CAE Elektronik GmbH has signed a contract with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) to provide the German Navy with a comprehensive training solution for the NH90 Sea Lion helicopter. The German Navy is procuring a fleet of 18 NH90 Sea Lion helicopters to support search and rescue (SAR) operations and replace the venerable Sea King MK41 helicopter, which has been in operation for over 40 years for the German Navy. The German Navy NH90 Sea Lion training solution will be based near German Naval Airbase Nordholz, which is the home of the German Naval Air Command. “CAE has a long history supporting German naval aviation training at Nordholz on platforms such as the Sea King and Lynx helicopters as well as P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft,” said Niels Kröning, General Manager, CAE Elektronik GmbH. “We are honoured to be selected to continue this longstanding cooperation with the development of a world-class training solution for the NH90 Sea Lion helicopter.” Under terms of the contract, CAE will design and manufacture a suite of NH90 Sea Lion training devices for the German Navy, including: NH90 full-mission simulator capable of compliance to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Level D qualification, the highest for flight simulators; NH90 cockpit procedures trainer; NH90 operational tactics trainer for training rear-crew tactical coordinators (TACCO) and sensor operators, and capable of networking with the full-mission simulator to provide full-crew mission training; NH90 winch and hoist operator trainer, which will also be capable of networking to other NH90 training devices for full-crew training. In addition, CAE will construct an interim training facility just outside the main entrance to German Naval Airbase Nordholz and will provide on-site training support and maintenance services upon delivery. The new NH90 Sea Lion training system is expected to be operational by the second half of 2022. “This contract award for the German Navy NH90 Sea Lion further extends CAE's industry-leading position providing comprehensive training solutions for the enduring NH90 helicopter platform,” said Marc-Olivier Sabourin, Vice President and General Manager, Defence & Security International, CAE. “The German Navy will now join the German Army and other countries including Australia, the Netherlands, Qatar, New Zealand and others in partnering with CAE to provide the training systems and support required to prepare their NH90 aircrews.” The NH90 full-mission simulator for the German Navy will feature a range of CAE's core simulation technologies. These technologies include: six degree-of-freedom (DOF) electric motion system; high-performance vibration platform to replicate vibration cues critical to helicopter pilots; and a high-fidelity CAE Medallion-6000 image generator. The NH90 training devices will also feature the Open Geospatial Consortium Common Database (OGC CDB) architecture, an international standard for the creation of synthetic environment databases that has been adopted on a range of German Armed Forces training systems. About NSPA The NATO Support and Procurement Agency brings together in a single organization NATO's logistics and procurement support activities, providing integrated multinational solutions for its customers. NSPA acts as NATO's premier life cycle management (including acquisition) and services provider, effectively and efficiently delivering a broad spectrum of integrated capabilities for NATO, its nations and partners, including support to operations. About CAE CAE's Defence & Security business unit focuses on helping prepare our customers to develop and maintain the highest levels of mission readiness. We are a world-class training systems integrator offering a comprehensive portfolio of training centres, training services and simulation products across the air, land, sea and public safety market segments. We serve our global defence and security customers through regional operations in Canada; the United States/Latin America; Europe/Africa; and Asia-Pacific/Middle East, all of which leverage the full breadth of CAE's capabilities, technologies and solutions. CAE is a global leader in training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. Backed by a record of more than 70 years of industry firsts, we continue to help define global training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defence force readiness and enhance patient safety. We have the broadest global presence in the industry, with over 10,000 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, we train more than 220,000 civil and defence crewmembers, including more than 135,000 pilots, and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. www.cae.com Follow us on Twitter @CAE_Inc and @CAE_Defence View source version on CAE: https://www.cae.com/news-events/press-releases/cae-wins-contract-to-provide-german-navy-with-comprehensive-nh90-sea-lion-training-solution
April 6, 2022 | Local, C4ISR, Security

Will cloud computing be Canada’s next big military procurement? Here’s what to know - National | Globalnews.ca
Officials tell Global News that 'preliminary' work is underway on a possible classified cloud service. A similar process in the U.S. for military cloud services is worth billions.
February 15, 2021 | Local, Land

Canada’s main small arms manufacturer sold to Czech firm
David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen Publishing date: Feb 14, 2021 • 21 hours ago • 1 minute read Canada's main small arms manufacturer which provides firearms to the Canadian military has been purchased by a Czech firm. Czech firearms company Ceska Zbrojovka will acquire Colt in the U.S. as well as its subsidiary Colt Canada, based in Kitchener, ON. The deal is expected to be completed by the summer. Colt Canada, with around 100 employees, is Canada's Small Arms Strategic Source and Centre of Excellence. It is included in what the federal government calls the Munitions Supply Program, which sees contracts directed to Colt Canada to maintain its expertise. Department of National Defence officials acknowledge that taxpayers pay a premium to have the guns manufactured in Canada through the sole-source deals. The Czech firm has around 1,650 workers in the Czech Republic, United States and Germany. In a statement it noted that the acquisition of Colt “will acquire significant production capacity in the United States and Canada and substantially expand its global customer base.” National Defence spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin said Sunday that the department has been informed of the pending sale of Colt Canada. “While we do not expect an impact on our existing contracts, we are still assessing the situation,” she noted. Public Services and Procurement Canada couldn't provide comment because its media relations office is closed on the weekends. However, last year, that department noted the value of Canada having its own small arms capability. “With Colt Canada as the strategic source of supply and centre of excellence for small arms, the Government of Canada has the ability to produce small arms domestically, ensuring the development of a viable and internationally competitive industry that gives Canada long-term industrial and economic benefits,” the department noted in an email. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadas-main-small-arms-manufacturer-sold-to-czech-firm

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More than 100 military procurements facing delays: Defence Department

On the same subject

Will cloud computing be Canada’s next big military procurement? Here’s what to know - National | Globalnews.ca Officials tell Global News that 'preliminary' work is underway on a possible classified cloud service. A similar process in the U.S. for military cloud services is worth billions.

Will cloud computing be Canada’s next big military procurement? Here’s what to know - National | Globalnews.ca
Officials tell Global News that 'preliminary' work is underway on a possible classified cloud service. A similar process in the U.S. for military cloud services is worth billions.