Norway's Kongsberg wins record $1.5 bln defence order from Poland | Reuters

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  July 25, 2019 | Local, Naval

  U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Navy Conduct Tri-Party Staff Talks

  HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (NNS) -- Members of Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet staff and the U.S Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command joined Canadian Armed Forces' Joint Task Force Atlantic for the 2019 Tri-Party Staff Talks at Canadian Armed Forces Base Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 18-20. This year's staff talks culminated with Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet (C2F) taking the lead role for the staff talks, as well as Frontier Sentinal, the yearly exercise conducted by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and Royal Canadian Navy. The tri-party rotates acting as the lead for the exercise every two years. Until the reestablishment of C2F in 2018, U.S. Fleet Forces command represented the U.S. Navy in the cohort. The talks evaluated the joint organizations' ability to conduct inter-organizational communications at the operational and tactical levels, achieve and maintain shared maritime domain awareness, and conduct collaborative operational planning. All groups will be required to identify any problems, considerations, constraints, and restraints they are likely to encounter within this scenario. Honing these skills is increasingly important as U.S. 2nd Fleet steps into the role previously occupied by U.S. Fleet Forces Command. “I consider our tri-party relationship to be foundational to 2nd Fleets ability to effectively operate,” said Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander U.S. 2nd Fleet. “We need to be seamless in scenario in order to effectively work together in real world operations. We must transcend interoperability to complete integration between our organizations.” Frontier Sentinel is an annual exercise between all three organizations that serves as the cornerstone for validating the interoperability of the tri-party commands and tactical assets, highlighting challenges to interoperability and identifying solutions. https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=110346&utm_source=phplist3026&utm_medium=email&utm_content=HTML&utm_campaign=Headlines

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  April 25, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian proposed as the right choice for RPAS in Canada

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI)–a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems–continues the on-time development of its latest RPAS, the MQ-9B SkyGuardian. GA-ASI is designing MQ-9B as the next generation of multi-mission Predator B fleet and has named its baseline MQ-9B aircraft SkyGuardian. As Canada looks to fulfil its RPAS project requirements, the multi-mission SkyGuardian stands out as the perfect solution. GA-ASI is collaborating with its Team SkyGuardian Canada teammates–CAE, MDA, and L3 Wescam–to deliver the perfect RPAS to Canada. The team combines the best of Canadian industry with the world's most advanced medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) RPAS to fulfil Canada's RPAS project requirements. The Royal Air Force (RAF) is acquiring SkyGuardian as part of its Protector RG Mk1 program and is scheduled for first delivery in the early 2020s. Belgium also selected SkyGuardian for its defence needs. The RPA is being considered as an option for the Australian Defence Force, which chose GA-ASI to supply the RPA system for Project Air 7003. “MQ-9B is the world's only RPAS being developed to be certified to fly in non-segregated, controlled airspace,” said Linden Blue, CEO of GA-ASI. “The development is the result of a five-year, company funded program to deliver an unmanned aircraft to meet the stringent airworthiness type-certification requirements of NATO and various civil authorities.” As part of the certification effort, MQ-9B is being provisioned with a GA-ASI-developed detect and avoid (DAA) system. The DAA system consists of a due regard radar (air-to-air radar), coupled with a traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B). The first-ever transatlantic flight of a MALE RPAS was accomplished in July 2018 as part of the Royal Air Force's (RAF) centenary celebration (RAF100). SkyGuardian flew from Grand Forks, N.D., to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, U.K., covering 3,760 nautical miles in 24 hours. Other recent achievements include: Demonstration of SATCOM launch and recovery for MQ-9B using expeditionary command and control (XC2)–December 2018 First flight of the second MQ-9B SkyGuardian–September 2018 Integration of MQ-9B with GPS and GALILEO satellite systems–June 2018 Successful lightning tests on MQ-9B–May 2018 Demonstration of auto takeoff and landing using SATCOM for MQ-9B–December 2017 The MQ-9B set an endurance record for GA-ASI aircraft when it flew for more than 48 consecutive hours in April 2017. This is an unprecedented level of endurance that enables the MQ-9B to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) around the clock with an operating cost well below most manned platforms. MQ-9B has a range of over 6,000 nautical miles and is equipped with nine hard-points for sensor or weapons carriage with over 4,000 pounds of available payload. SkyGuardian is capable of all-weather day/night operations. The cold weather engine start capability allows ground operations down to -41 C. These RPAS also have an electro-expulsive de-icing system (EEDS) for wing leading edges, anti-ice heated engine inlet, heated pitot tube and static ports, and lightning protection. Interoperable with the U.S., FVEY and NATO, SkyGuardian's multi-mission capability makes it a valued asset in a variety of scenarios–including environmental protection, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, maritime domain awareness, search and rescue (SAR) and overland and overwater ISR. To date, GA-ASI has delivered over 850 aircraft and more than 300 ground control stations. Every second of every day, close to 70 GA-ASI-delivered RPA are airborne worldwide. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/mq-9b-skyguardian-proposed-as-the-right-choice-for-rpas-in-canada/

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  January 16, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

  Purchase of new planes to replace 50-year Twin Otter military aircraft now on hold

  A project to replace the 50-year-old Canadian military aircraft used in the Arctic is on hold despite the Liberal government’s claim it is committed to…