Ottawa firm develops cutting-edge radar technology to defend North America

On the same subject

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  November 14, 2017 | Local, Naval

  French and Italian firms to submit joint bid on Canadian Surface Combatant

  Fincantieri of Italy and Naval Group of France have confirmed they will jointly bid the FREMM frigate for the Canadian Surface Combatant program. Bids are due on Nov. 30. Fincantieri General Manager Alberto Maestrini told analysts of the joint bid in a Nov. 10 teleconference. CSC will see the construction of 15 new warships. Maestrini also said the FREMM frigate would be well-suited for another pending program, according to a report in Defense News. “We think it will also match perfectly the requirements put forward by the U.S. Navy in their recent request for design proposals for the Future Frigate Program,” Maestrini told analysts. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/french-and-italian-firms-to-submit-joint-bid-on-canadian-surface-combatant

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  June 29, 2018 | Local, Land

  General Dynamics debuts new LAV variants, looks toward ground-based air defence variant

  David Carl, Toronto - Jane's International Defence Review General Dynamics Land Systems Canada (GDLS-C) unveiled two new variants of its light armoured vehicle (LAV) 6.0 family during CANSEC 2018 in Ottowa from 30–31 May. The company also spoke about its LAV 6.0 Air Defence concept, and the LAV 700 currently in production for an export customer. The LAV 6.0 Reconnaissance, or ‘Recce', variant was developed from the LAV 6.0 baseline for the Canadian Army's LAV Reconnaissance Surveillance Suite Upgrade Program (LRSS-UP), a contract awarded to GDLS-C in late 2014 at a cost of CAD287 million (USD216 million) for 66 vehicles. First deliveries of the vehicles to the Canadian Army are expected in the early 2020s. In addition to sharing common features with the LAV 6.0, such as the M242 25 mm chain gun, a double-V hull, and a 450-hp Caterpillar C9 engine, the LAV 6 Recce has extensive sensors for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The detachable electro optic/infrared (EO/IR) surveillance suite, mounted on top of an extendable mast, has a radar, a day/night imager, IR imaging, and a laser pointer/laser rangefinder (LRF) all fitted to a stabilised gimble. The mast can be extended up to 5 m when on the move, or up to 10 m while stationary. The sensors on the mast feed information into the operator control station, which consists of two touchscreen displays, a keyboard, and a primary hand controller. The feed can be duplicated onto an onboard laptop, which can also control the mast while connected to the vehicle. The commander and gunner stations can access the sensor data from their own displays in their respective compartments. The vehicle also has an extended ‘silent watch' functionality, whereby it can turn off the engines and carry out its ISR functions using its onboard lithium batteries for up to eight hours. http://www.janes.com/article/81387/general-dynamics-debuts-new-lav-variants-looks-toward-ground-based-air-defence-variant

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  December 14, 2018 | Local, Naval

  Trade tribunal puts frigate program back on track

  Murray Brewster · CBC News The federal government's plan to award to a group of companies led by Lockheed Martin Canada the contract to design and support the construction of the navy's new frigates has been — nominally — put back on track. The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has rescinded an order, issued late last month, that prevented the signing of the deal. The decision to reverse course was made Monday after Public Services and Procurement Canada "certified in writing that the ... procurement is urgent and that a delay in awarding the contract would be contrary to the public interest," according to a copy of the ruling. The decision opens the way for the government to finalize the contract, which is still under negotiation. The Lockheed Martin Canada-led team was selected in October as the preferred bidder after a nearly two-year-long competition to select an off-the-shelf design for the 15 new warships that eventually will replace the navy's frigates. One of the competitors, Alion, asked the CITT to investigate the procurement deal, saying the preferred warship design will need substantial changes and doesn't meet the navy's requirements as spelled out in the government tender. The company also has asked the Federal Court in a separate filing for a judicial review of the long-awaited decision. That case is still pending. The federal government hopes to be able to sign a contract this winter. The order to postpone implementing a deal could have had a devastating impact on the $60 billion program, which already has suffered a series of delays. One of the biggest concerns involved an anticipated production slowdown at the go-to shipyard for warship construction, Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax. The federal government is expecting gap of, possibly, 18 months between the completion of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships and the beginning of construction on the new frigates, known as Canadian Surface Combatants. The Liberal government has attempted to mitigate the slowdown by confirming the construction of six Arctic patrol ships. Further delays to the new frigates would have made that worse. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trade-tribunal-puts-frigate-program-back-on-track-1.4941507