Corrosion Detection in Ships Sandbox Call for Applications Re-launches

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  April 1, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Important notice about CANSEC 2020

  Ottawa (March 31, 2020) - Christyn Cianfarani, President and CEO of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, today issued the following statement regarding CANSEC 2020. Good afternoon, It goes without saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our businesses, communities and our families close to home and around the globe. Over the last few weeks, CADSI has been working hard to determine what this means for our community and the events we produce for you. Today, I announce that we have made the difficult decision not to host CANSEC in 2020. As a result, we are now working hard to make CANSEC 2021 – which will take place June 2 and 3 at Ottawa's EY Centre – the best CANSEC ever. CADSI staff have begun reaching out to our members, specifically exhibit managers and sponsor reps, as well as partners and suppliers to provide details on next steps. Please stay tuned to your inboxes for more information. If you do have questions, please email cansecsupport@defenceandsecurity.ca. We are all hands-on deck to manage your inquiries, but it may take us a few days to get back to you. Please continue to be patient with us and we will respond to every inquiry as soon as we can. As you can imagine, this was a difficult but necessary decision. We know how important CANSEC is to our members, to our government and military partners, and to the broader defence and security community. It's more than a trade show; it's a time for us to come together as one and strengthen the community tasked with keeping Canada and the world safe. We also understand that this decision has taken longer to make than some would have liked. Let me share why. CANSEC is a large event with many moving parts. It has a $10 million impact on the local Ottawa economy and provides significant revenue for dozens of loyal suppliers that are struggling to deal with the economic fallout of COVID-19. Many of them are small businesses that rely on CANSEC as a key source of income. We took the time necessary to explore every possible option with the City of Ottawa, our partners, contractors, and suppliers to mitigate losses to our community and secure the long-term viability of CANSEC, which needs these partners and suppliers to be successful. We also took the time to think about our membership and the struggles it will face over the coming months. CADSI's prudent plans and budgets in recent years have placed us on a solid financial foundation for the situation we find ourselves in today. For this reason — and for the good of our community, our suppliers and our members — CADSI will refund 100% of CANSEC purchases paid by members to CADSI (e.g. sponsorship, exhibits, meeting suites), while respecting timely payments to our suppliers. Irrespective of whether CADSI will incur losses and changes to our business as a result of this decision, our commitment to our members remains the same. We are doubling down as the best advocates we can be for you in these tough times. We are also working hard to make CANSEC 2021 the best CANSEC ever. Thank you to all stakeholders who came to the table in the spirit of partnership as we made this decision, and to our members for your patience and understanding in this time of uncertainty. Many of you have been busy contributing to Canada's response to COVID-19 here at home and around the world. You have made us proud, and we cannot wait to reconnect with you – in person – at CANSEC 2021. Sincerely, Christyn Cianfarani President & CEO, CADSI Posted 2020-03-31 Last Modified 2020-03-31 14:22

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  October 31, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  SkyAlyne: A True Canadian Collaboration for FAcT

  In May 2018, CAE and KF Aerospace joined together to form SkyAlyne Canada – a 50/50 joint venture to focus on developing and delivering military pilot and aircraft training in Canada. These two companies currently deliver all phases of pilot training to the Royal Canadian Air Force through the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program and the Contracted Flying Training and Support (CFTS) program. These programs will come to an end in the next few years and Canada is looking to award a new contract to renew its existing aircrew training services through the Future Aircrew Training program (FAcT). Vanguard recently had the opportunity to speak with Peter Fedak, Program Solutions, SkyAlyne Canada. Can you tell us a little more about this joint venture between CAE and KF Aerospace? Peter Fedak: CAE and KF Aerospace are the current providers of all phases of military pilot training and air combat system operator training in Canada. Since we have the knowledge, experience, and credibility with the RCAF in providing these training services to them, we thought that by joining together we can provide the best solution for Canada. The best way to do that was to create an entirely new entity – a 50/50 joint venture – with two leading air training Canadian companies. That led to the birth of SkyAlyne, a true collaboration to bring the best solution for the future, provided by a truly Canadian organization. The expertise that we possess – right here in Canada – is a real benefit to Canadians and the RCAF. What are some of the top training challenges with the current programs? PF: With any government program, the most important thing to taxpayers is cost. In Canada, we have some unique environmental challenges that drive the cost up, like the weather, flying below 40 degrees Celsius or above 40. This requires infrastructure, aircraft requirements, and personnel to operate in these extreme temperatures. Another challenge is timing. The NFTC program will expire in 2023, with an option year to 2024. The timeline to engineer the transition, planning, and infrastructure is a challenge that we and the government recognize, but we are ready to face it. With our ongoing programs, we are well situated to seamlessly make the transition for Canada. If SkyAlyne is selected for the FAcT program, what are some of the capabilities that this joint venture will bring to the table? PF: A key part in the lead up to FAcT will be to maintain the existing training programs while transitioning to the new program. We have the employees, technical and infrastructure base with the current programs and the ability to seamlessly move between the two. The most valuable resource is people and under NFTC and CFTS, we have a true core human resources capability of trained, qualified and professional people that work under these programs every day and are committed to the success of the pilot training program for the RCAF. Having these personnel is a real core capability for us to maintain the production of pilots while moving forward. Can you share with us some of the lessons or takeaways from the CFTS program that you think would be important to incorporate into the FAcT program? PF: The key lesson is the relationship. We didn't create this program and then offer it to the RCAF. We are here because of the RCAF and the Government of Canada. We are here to support them by understanding the culture and people and building on that by working closely with them to keep the program moving forward. This is truly a long-term relationship, like a marriage. We are here for 22 years under this contract and looking for another 25 years. So, it's a matter of establishing and maintaining that trust going forward. That's the only way you can get through these long-term complex contracts – building a good relationship. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. PF: Thank you very much for the opportunity. It's always a pleasure to speak about not only our current programs here in Southport, Manitoba and Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan but also the future opportunities to continue supporting the Government of Canada with our exciting new joint venture of SkyAlyne. To hear more about this topic listen to the podcast with Peter Fedak. https://vanguardcanada.com/2019/10/30/skyalyne-a-true-canadian-collaboration-for-fact/

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  November 5, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  Aviation de combat : le Canada devrait lancer un appel d'offres au printemps 2019

  Par Michel Cabirol Le Canada doit lancer au printemps 2019 un appel d'offres pour l'acquisition de 88 avions de combat. Il sera adressé aux cinq constructeurs de quatre pays sélectionnés en février dernier : Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Dassault Aviation, Airbus Defense and Space et Saab AB. Le dossier de renouvellement de la flotte d'avions de combat canadiens arrive bientôt dans sa phase cruciale. Le Canada doit lancer au printemps 2019 un appel d'offres (RFP) pour l'acquisition de 88 avions de combat. Il sera adressé aux cinq constructeurs de quatre pays sélectionnés par Ottawa en février dernier : Boeing ainsi que Lockheed Martin associé à Pratt and Whitney (Etats-Unis), Dassault Aviation (avec Thales DMS France, Thales Canada, et Safran Aircraft Engines), Airbus Defense and Space (Grande-Bretagne) et Saab AB (Suède). Le vainqueur de la compétition, qui devra livrer le premier appareil en 2025 et les derniers en 2031, sera désigné fin 2021, début 2022. "Il y a trois ans, nous nous trouvions dans une impasse avec ce processus, a rappelé jeudi dernier la ministre des Services publics et de l'Approvisionnement et de l'Accessibilité Carla Qualtrough. Aujourd'hui, je suis heureuse de vous apprendre que cette entreprise ambitieuse a repris son élan". En novembre 2016, le Canada avait lancé un appel d'offres afin de moderniser sa flotte de combat tout en restant partenaire du programme F-35 de Lockheed Martin. Une décision qui allait à l'encontre de la promesse du gouvernement canadien faite en 2010 d'acquérir 65 F-35. Une intention d'achat qui n'a pas résisté à l'inflation des prix du F-35. Des F-18 d'occasion pour faire la jonction Où en est-on aujourd'hui? Après avoir lancé le processus en décembre 2017, puis désigné les constructeurs admissibles en février, Ottawa a remis la semaine dernière un projet d'appel d'offres aux six avionneurs. Ces derniers disposent d'un délai d'environ huit semaines pour envoyer leurs commentaires, qui seront utilisés par le Canada en vue de peaufiner et finaliser l'appel d'offres (RFP, Request for proposal). Une fois le document envoyé aux six constructeurs, ces derniers enverront leur proposition initiale au Canada à l'hiver 2019-2020. Ensuite, elles seront évaluées entre 2020 et 2021 et pourront faire l'objet d'une négociation si nécessaire. "Nous travaillerons avec les fournisseurs, au cours des mois à venir, sur cette ébauche, a expliqué Carla Qualtrough. La demande de propositions officielle sera distribuée aux fournisseurs admissibles le printemps prochain". En attendant la livraison du premier avion de combat en 2025, Ottawa travaille avec le gouvernement australien pour acheter 18 F-18 d'occasion et les pièces de rechange associées de la Royal Australian Air Force pour renforcer la flotte existante. "Nous prévoyons recevoir les deux premiers avions en 2019", a affirmé Carla Qualtrough. Initialement, le Canada avait prévu d'acheter des F-18 neufs à Boeing. Mais en décembre 2017, la ministre des Services publics a annoncé que le Canada n'a "pas l'intention de donner suite à l'offre du gouvernement américain pour des Super Hornet". Un contrat évalué à plus de 5 milliards de dollars qui passe sous le nez de Boeing en raison de la multiplication des conflits commerciaux avec les États-Unis. Play Video Des retombées technologiques et industrielles pour le Canada La nouvelle politique du Canada en matière de retombées industrielles et technologiques exige des groupes se voyant attribuer une commande dans la défense qu'ils investissent localement un montant égal à la valeur du contrat. Elle s'appliquera à l'appel d'offres des avions de combat. Les soumissionnaires seront donc invités à présenter leur meilleure proposition de valeur pour le Canada. Car ce critère a une influence directe sur le choix du vainqueur. À l'heure où le Canada amorce une période d'investissements importants dans la défense, le gouvernement a fixé une cible très ambitieuse de retombées économiques pour le pays. Il vise une augmentation de 40 % sur une période de dix ans des revenus de l'industrie de la défense canadienne. Les propositions seront également évaluées en fonction des coûts et des exigences techniques. Elles seront par ailleurs assorties d'une évaluation de l'incidence globale des soumissionnaires sur les intérêts économiques du Canada. Quel constructeur se rapprochera le plus d'un avion de combat "Made in Canada"? https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/aviation-de-combat-le-canada-devrait-lancer-un-appel-d-offres-au-printemps-2019-795860.html