DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
Industry representatives have been talking about the possibility that the Type 26 design will need to be altered significantly to meet Canadian requirements. There have been suggestions that the length of the ship will have to be increased by 10 metres to better accommodate a Canadian crew size. Questions about such a possibility were even raised by MPs at a Commons defence committee meeting last month.
But the Department of National Defence says there's nothing to such claims. DND spokeswoman Ashley Lemire points out that Lockheed Martin's proposal, based on the BAE Type 26, meets the requirements outlined in the Canadian government's request for proposal. “Therefore, there is no need to lengthen the proposed design to meet Canada's requirements,” she said.
DND procurement chief Pat Finn also faced similar questions from Conservative MPs during the Commons defence committee meeting last month. The Conservatives raised concerns about about whether the Type 26 had the speed or size to meet Canadian requirements. MPs also asked questions about whether the cost of the Canadian Surface Combatant program was increasing from $60 billion-$65 billion to $77 billion. Finn said there are no issues on speed or size for the Type 26. “The requirement for the Canadian Surface Combatant set standards for speed, berths, etc., so there's no cost increase to the bid because of speed or berth,” Finn explained to MPs. “There's been no documentation prepared and nothing has come across my desk that says there's a cost increase to $77 billion.”
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Defence firms and other companies were given almost $10 million to develop new ways to analyze social media and sift through accounts.
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While the digital transformation of the aviation industry has made air travel more efficient, new technologies are a double-edged sword serving as additional entry points for cybercriminals to cause disruptions.
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Trevor Nash Following an industry ‘engagement session' in Ottawa on 2 May, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has provided additional information to industry about its Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) requirement. Like many air forces around the world, the RCAF is looking at methods to both streamline and reduce the costs of producing aircrew, pilots, Air Combat Systems Officers (ACSO) and Airborne Electronic Sensor Operators (AES Op). The RCAF's preference is to opt for a training service provision model that is generated by one or more commercial contractors. At present, pilot training is conducted through two services contracts known as NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) and Contracted Flying Training and Support (CFTS). These two contracts include classroom instruction, simulator training and flight training. These have been independently provided by CAE and KF Aerospace respectively however, these companies have recently combined their efforts to form a new 50:50 joint venture company named SkyAlyne that will now service both requirements. Although NFTC and CFTS training has been provided by industry, ACSO/AES Op training is delivered by 402 Squadron in Winnipeg using only DND personnel and equipment. Flying training is undertaken on the CT-142 (Dash-8) aircraft. These aircraft are approaching their end of life date and the ground training system that supports them is also old and needs replacing. According to the RCAF document issued prior to the industry engagement session: ‘The confluence of concluding pilot training service contracts, the need for revitalisation of the ACSO and AES Op training system, and the significant overlap of core knowledge and skills between these three occupations provide the opportunity to streamline key elements of aircrew training. ‘This approach will realise efficiencies in not only training time and cost, but also in training methodologies and incorporation of modern and evolving technologies. Additionally, the synthetic training environment will be leveraged to the greatest extent possible to maintain an aircrew training system that will remain relevant into the middle of the century. ‘It is essential that continuity of aircrew training be maintained throughout the transition.' Like most military procurements, FAcT has been a long time in the making with the first RFI issued in September 2013. If all goes well, contract award is scheduled for 2021 with a ramp-up during which ‘partial FAcT operations begin' during 2021-23. Full operating capability is not expected until 2027. Numerous companies have expressed interest including Boeing and Lockheed Martin as well of course, as SkyAlyne. The incumbent Canadian providers would appear to be in a strong position after pooling their resources. https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/training-simulation/itec-2018-rcaf-looks-future/